On this day in 1858, the first trans-Atlantic telegraph cable was linked up allowing messages to be sent from the United States to England. By August 16th, President Buchanan and Queen Victoria had exchanged messages – but by the beginning of September, the cable broke and no more trans-Atlantic messages were possible until 1866.
It’s hard to imagine what life was like in the telegraph age now isn’t it? I’ve only ever seen 1 actual telegraph message. Have you seen one in real life?
I used to tease my Grandma about all the technological advancements she saw in her life. She was born in the horse and buggy days and saw beginning of the automotive age. She saw telephones go from party lines to private lines to cell phones. She saw the dawn of TV and lived to see cable TV. She saw the beginning of commercial air travel – and the son of one of her friends walk on the moon.
In my own lifetime, tech has just continued to accelerate. At my first job in NYC at a Madison Avenue ad agency, there were 40 of us that shared 3 computers! Now, I carry around more computing power in my cell phone than those computers had! I’ve gone from green screens to being able to create my own interfaces. And I’m watching AI unfold now. Crazy isn’t it? Cannot wait to see what comes next!
Want to know more about telegraphs? Check out these links!
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