and British support, Field founded the Atlantic Telegraph Company alongside J. W. Brett, chief engineer Bright, and Whitehouse as chief electrician. This company was created to manage the unprecedented task of laying a telegraph cable across the Atlantic Ocean. Field worked tirelessly to secure funding, coordinate logistics, and win political and public backing for the project. The Atlantic Telegraph Company “It was not till 1856 …that the enterprise had any existence in England. In that summer, I went to London, and there, with Mr. John W. Brett, Mr. Charles Bright and Dr. Whitehouse, organized the Atlantic Telegraph Company.” – Cyrus West Field According to Whitehouse, he spent every waking moment for the next two years working on solving the trans-Atlantic cable problem. He used his knowledge to design an elaborate system of relays, spark
Figure 9. Newfoundland Telegraph Station
as a successful merchant in New York City. Never to be found bored, by the early 1850s, in his early thirties, he had accumulated such substantial wealth that he wanted a new challenge. As a young man, he was glad to take on great risks in the name of progress, investing money in businesses during the early industrial age. In 1854, Field was approached by Frederick
Gisborne, a Canadian engineer attempting to lay a telegraph line across Newfoundland. Inspired by the broader potential of linking North America to Europe via an undersea cable, Field took on the project, quickly realizing its global significance and monumental challenge. In 1856, after assembling a group of investors he called the “Cable Cabinet” and rallying American
Figure 10. The Main Cable 2
we get technical
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