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USS Niagara – Scientist of the Day

In the wee morning hours of Aug. 5, 1858, the U. S. Steamship Niagara wended her way carefully into Trinity Bay on the eastern tip of Newfoundland, paying out a submarine cable as she did so.

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#Engineering #Atlantic cable #telegraph #histsci #histSTM #19th century #history of science #Ashworth #Scientist of the Day

If you've heard of Morse Code, you've also heard the name of the inventor of the telegraph machine, Samuel Morse. Chances are better, though, that you have not heard of Princeton professor Joseph Henry, whose scientific discovery of electromagnetism made the invention possible.

On August 19, 1858, as Princetonians celebrated the successful completion of the laying of the "Atlantic Cable" that allowed for real-time transatlantic communication via telegram for the first time, professor Stephen Alexander complained about his colleague not getting the credit he was due as the world lauded Morse. The Nassau Literary Magazine summarized Alexander's comments:

"We are not disposed to detract from the established reputation of Prof. Morse, as an ingenious inventor, but only to remind him of his forgetfulness in not attributing to the man at whose feet he was once proud to sit as a learner, the merit of having first demonstrated the telegraph to be eminently practicable."

Portrait of Joseph Henry found in the Historical Photograph Collection: Individuals Series (AC067), Box 135, Folder 30.

#1850s #telegram #telegraph #Samuel Morse #Joseph Henry #Stephen Alexander #Princeton #Atlantic Cable