The cable ship Narva began the process of laying the submarine portion of the International Ocean Telegraph Company's telegraph line between the United States and Cuba on this day when it landed the American end on South Beach, near Key West, Florida. Two days later, the Narva landed the Cuban end near Chororra on the island. Complications with a cable break during the actual laying then ensued but after repairs the cable was completed on August 17, 1867. Its first messages, between the mayor of Key West, E.O. Gwynn, and Joaquin del Monzana, the Spanish captain-general of Cuba in Havana were exchanged on August 21, 1867. (By John Osborne)
"The Cuban Submarine Cable," Harper's Weekly Magazine, September 7, 1867, p. 574.
Tom Hambright, "Key West & Cuba Become Link for International Communications: International Ocean Telegraph Co. in Key West," Florida Keys Sea Heritage Journal, Fall 1991.
