Scientists, engineers and Wildman Whitehouse: measurement and credibility in early cable telegraphy
Between 1856 and 1858, a group of entrepreneurs and engineers led by the American Cyrus Field and the Englishmen J. W. Brett, Charles Bright and E. O. Wildman Whitehouse sought to lay a telegraph cable across the Atlantic from Ireland to Newfoundland. Their projected cable would be far longer, far m...
Published in: | The British Journal for the History of Science |
---|---|
Main Author: | |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
1996
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0007087400034208 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0007087400034208 |
id |
crcambridgeupr:10.1017/s0007087400034208 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
crcambridgeupr:10.1017/s0007087400034208 2024-03-03T08:46:45+00:00 Scientists, engineers and Wildman Whitehouse: measurement and credibility in early cable telegraphy Hunt, Bruce J. 1996 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0007087400034208 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0007087400034208 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms The British Journal for the History of Science volume 29, issue 2, page 155-169 ISSN 0007-0874 1474-001X History and Philosophy of Science History journal-article 1996 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/s0007087400034208 2024-02-08T08:29:13Z Between 1856 and 1858, a group of entrepreneurs and engineers led by the American Cyrus Field and the Englishmen J. W. Brett, Charles Bright and E. O. Wildman Whitehouse sought to lay a telegraph cable across the Atlantic from Ireland to Newfoundland. Their projected cable would be far longer, far more expensive, and far more difficult to lay than any previously attempted; that such an ambitious undertaking was launched and quickly drew financial backing was testimony to the technological enthusiasm of the mid-Victorian era. After many setbacks, the cable was successfully completed early in August 1858. The first messages it carried were met with rapturous excitement on both sides of the Atlantic – making its failure after just a few weeks of fitful service all the more humiliating. Identifying the causes of that failure, and assigning blame for them, became crucial to ensuring the future of transoceanic cable telegraphy. Were the causes of the failure intrinsic to the enterprise, and the vision of a network of transoceanic cables no more than an unrealistic dream? Or did the collapse of the cable result simply from a series of unfortunate and correctable errors? How those questions were answered in the autumn of 1858 would go far toward determining the prospects not only for renewing the Atlantic project, but also for any attempt to extend submarine cables more widely around the world. Article in Journal/Newspaper Newfoundland Cambridge University Press The British Journal for the History of Science 29 2 155 169 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Cambridge University Press |
op_collection_id |
crcambridgeupr |
language |
English |
topic |
History and Philosophy of Science History |
spellingShingle |
History and Philosophy of Science History Hunt, Bruce J. Scientists, engineers and Wildman Whitehouse: measurement and credibility in early cable telegraphy |
topic_facet |
History and Philosophy of Science History |
description |
Between 1856 and 1858, a group of entrepreneurs and engineers led by the American Cyrus Field and the Englishmen J. W. Brett, Charles Bright and E. O. Wildman Whitehouse sought to lay a telegraph cable across the Atlantic from Ireland to Newfoundland. Their projected cable would be far longer, far more expensive, and far more difficult to lay than any previously attempted; that such an ambitious undertaking was launched and quickly drew financial backing was testimony to the technological enthusiasm of the mid-Victorian era. After many setbacks, the cable was successfully completed early in August 1858. The first messages it carried were met with rapturous excitement on both sides of the Atlantic – making its failure after just a few weeks of fitful service all the more humiliating. Identifying the causes of that failure, and assigning blame for them, became crucial to ensuring the future of transoceanic cable telegraphy. Were the causes of the failure intrinsic to the enterprise, and the vision of a network of transoceanic cables no more than an unrealistic dream? Or did the collapse of the cable result simply from a series of unfortunate and correctable errors? How those questions were answered in the autumn of 1858 would go far toward determining the prospects not only for renewing the Atlantic project, but also for any attempt to extend submarine cables more widely around the world. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Hunt, Bruce J. |
author_facet |
Hunt, Bruce J. |
author_sort |
Hunt, Bruce J. |
title |
Scientists, engineers and Wildman Whitehouse: measurement and credibility in early cable telegraphy |
title_short |
Scientists, engineers and Wildman Whitehouse: measurement and credibility in early cable telegraphy |
title_full |
Scientists, engineers and Wildman Whitehouse: measurement and credibility in early cable telegraphy |
title_fullStr |
Scientists, engineers and Wildman Whitehouse: measurement and credibility in early cable telegraphy |
title_full_unstemmed |
Scientists, engineers and Wildman Whitehouse: measurement and credibility in early cable telegraphy |
title_sort |
scientists, engineers and wildman whitehouse: measurement and credibility in early cable telegraphy |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
1996 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0007087400034208 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0007087400034208 |
genre |
Newfoundland |
genre_facet |
Newfoundland |
op_source |
The British Journal for the History of Science volume 29, issue 2, page 155-169 ISSN 0007-0874 1474-001X |
op_rights |
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/s0007087400034208 |
container_title |
The British Journal for the History of Science |
container_volume |
29 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
155 |
op_container_end_page |
169 |
_version_ |
1792502792660713472 |