Date Event
Commercial telegraph service inaugurated in Washington, D.C.
The first telegraphed news bulletin relays the results of the Oregon question debate to Baltimore
Efficient telegraph service initiated between London and Paris
The first telegraph ticker to print words patented in New York City
Newfoundland and New York linked by telegraph thanks to new cable under the Gulf of St. Lawrence
New York City's Committee on Streets meets to discuss a proposal that the city's telegraph lines be buried underground
Underwater telegraph line down the Red Sea from Suez to Aden is completed
In Springfield, Illinois, Abraham Lincoln receives the news by telegraph of his nomination for President
Telegraph lines reach the Nebraska Territory and the first telegraph office opens in Brownville
Telegraph lines continue to cross the Nebraska Territory with the opening of the Omaha office
The world's first weather forecast is transmitted from the Meteorological Office in London
Near Omaha, Edward Creighton digs in the first pole of the final link in the trans-continental telegraph
In Utah, the telegraph reaches Salt Lake City and Brigham Young sends a message to President Lincoln
The telegraph line between Omaha and Sacramento is completed linking coast to coast
Two days after the first coast to coast telegraph message the Pony Express ceases operations
In South Carolina, an underwater telegraph cable in Charleston Harbor links Forts Moultrie and Sumter
In Virginia, the Beardslee Field Telegraph apparatus is demonstrated for the first time
The people of Nevada vote on their proposed constitution and statehood
From the White House in Washington, President Lincoln proclaims Nevada as the Union's 36th state
The International Ocean Telegraph Company is formed to extend telegraph lines into Central American and the Caribbean.
The eastern end of the new Atlantic Cable is delivered to Valencia in Ireland.
Off Ireland, the Great Eastern begins her cable laying operation towards Canada.
The Great Eastern, laying the new Atlantic Cable, passes where the cable broke and was lost in 1865.
The Great Eastern, laying the new Atlantic Cable, arrives in Newfoundland and the cable is connected.
The new Atlantic Cable transmits and receives its first messages between North America and Europe.
The Great Eastern begins to lay cable connected to the recovered 1865 broken cable and heads for Newfoundland.
In New York City, an ornate banquet honors Cyrus Field and his Atlantic Cable.
The American end of the new United States to Cuba undersea telegraph is landed near Key West, Florida.
The mayor of Key West and the Cuban captain-general exchange messages on the new United States to Cuba undersea telegraph.
The submarine cable between Punta Rassa and Key West completes the Washington to Havana telegraph line.
Heart's Content, Newfoundland
Valentia Island, County Kerry, Ireland
Date Title
Milwaukee (WI) Sentinel, "The Atlantic Telegraph Cable," June 29, 1858
Milwaukee (WI) Sentinel, "The Exact Milwaukee Time," July 31, 1858
New York Times, “A Telegraphic Bureau,” September 1, 1858
Milwaukee (WI) Sentinel, “The La Crosse Rail Road Telegraph,” November 22, 1858
New York Times, “The Telegraph and the Presidency,” September 9, 1859
San Francisco (CA) Evening Bulletin, “Prospects of the Speedy Completion of the Pacific Telegraph,” March 27, 1861
New York Herald, “The Pacific Telegraph Line,” October 21, 1861
How to Cite This Page: "Telegraph," House Divided: The Civil War Research Engine at Dickinson College, https://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/index.php/node/36592.