Today in History: First Transatlantic Telegraph Sent by Queen Victoria of Britain to U.S. President Buchanan

by M.C. Millman

The Queen's message expressed her joy for the two countries' new connection and the hope for continued friendship.

The United States and Britain completed laying the first successful transatlantic cable under the ocean when ships from the two countries met in the middle to complete the connection on August  16, 1858. On that day, Queen Victoria of Britain sent U.S. President James Buchanan an inaugural message congratulating him on their countries' mutual success in laying the cable.

Telegraphic messages were only achieved in 1844 when  Samuel Morse sent the world's first telegraphic message, "What hath G-d wrought?"

But the new technology had never crossed the ocean before, and delivering a message by ship across the Atlantic took about ten days. So scientists and engineers got to work trying to figure out how to connect Europe and North America by cable so transatlantic messages could be delivered in hours.

When they finally succeeded, the exciting new technological achievement was expected to allow nations to communicate faster and allow business and trade to grow. But, a few weeks later, the cable stopped working due to poor materials that had deteriorated after exposure to the element.

Another factor that contributed to the cable's failure was the 2,000 volts pumped into the cable. This high level of voltage further damaged the already deteriorating transatlantic cable. 

Seven hundred thirty-two messages were sent during the three weeks the transatlantic cable was active, but right from the start, it wasn't working well, even before it died.

It would take another eight years before a reliable transatlantic cable would cross the Atlantic Ocean.