September 1865: The failure of the Atlantic Telegraph Cable

A Victorian issue of The Engineer in a state of confusion is a sight to behold. When the immense self-confidence of the height of Empire at the heart of the Industrial Revolution were stymied by the dreaded spectre of Something Going A Bit Wrong, our predecessors tended to cast around for a rational explanation, and if they couldn’t find one, their distress is still almost palpable.

Take, for example, the failure of the attempt to lay a transatlantic telegraph cable. The scene was set for a glorious moment in the march of technology. The first cable had been laid after a series of mishaps, with numerous cable breaks and repairs, and began operation in August 1858; but it was driven at too high a voltage from the American end, which compromised its insulation. In September, the cable failed. Such was the disappointment that it took six years for the project to be revived, and a new cable made.