1-632-414 - Historica Graphica Collection/Heritage Images

The laying of the transatlantic telegraph cable, August 8th, 1866. The launching of the buoy marking the spot where the cable had been grappled. An attempt in 1865 by Brunel's giant steamship, the 'Great Eastern' to lay the cable ended in failure when the cable snapped and the end was lost. The following year the 'Great Eastern' succeeded in retrieving the lost cable and completing it, connecting Valentia in Ireland to Trinity Bay, Newfoundland. Instead of the length of a sea voyage, communication time between the two sides of the Atlantic became a matter of seconds. From The Atlantic Telegraph by William Howard Russell, published 1866.