Cyrus West Field facts for kids
Cyrus West Field (born November 30, 1819 – died July 12, 1892) was an American businessman and financier. He is best known for helping to create the Atlantic Telegraph Company. This company successfully laid the first telegraph cable across the Atlantic Ocean in 1858. This amazing achievement made it possible to send messages almost instantly between North America and Europe.
Contents
Early Life and Business Beginnings
Cyrus Field was born in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. When he was 16 years old, he moved to New York City. There, he started working as an apprentice in a large dry goods (like fabric and clothing) business. Later, he worked for a paper company. When that company faced problems, Field bought its stock. He then built it into his own successful business, called Cyrus W. Field and Company. He became one of New York City's richest people. By the age of 34, he had earned enough money to retire with a fortune of $250,000.
Connecting Continents: The Transatlantic Cable
Before the transatlantic cable, sending a message across the Atlantic Ocean took weeks. Letters had to travel by ship. Cyrus Field dreamed of a way to send messages instantly. He realized that a telegraph cable laid on the ocean floor could make this possible.
The Big Idea and Challenges
Field teamed up with other entrepreneurs to form the Atlantic Telegraph Company. Their goal was to lay a cable from Ireland to Newfoundland, Canada. This was a huge and very difficult project for the 1800s.
- First Attempts: The first attempts to lay the cable in the mid-1850s failed. The cables broke, or the equipment didn't work right.
- Learning from Mistakes: Field and his team didn't give up. They learned from each failure, improving their cables and methods. They had to design stronger cables and better ways to lay them deep under the ocean.
- The Great Eastern: For the final successful attempt, they used the largest ship in the world at the time, the SS Great Eastern. This massive ship was strong enough to carry the enormous weight of the cable.
Success and Impact
Finally, in 1866, after many years of hard work and several failures, the transatlantic telegraph cable was successfully laid. The first message sent across the completed cable was from Queen Victoria to U.S. President James Buchanan. It took only minutes to send!
This cable was a huge step forward for communication. It meant that news, business deals, and government messages could travel between continents almost instantly. This changed how people did business and how countries communicated with each other. It made the world feel much smaller and more connected.
Later Life
After his great success with the cable, Cyrus Field continued to be involved in business. However, some of his later investments did not go well. He lost much of his fortune by the end of his life. Cyrus Field died in New York City on July 12, 1892, remembered as the person who connected the world with a wire.
Images for kids
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Congratulatory telegram to President Buchanan on the completion of the first Trans-Atlantic cable, 1858.
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Plaque on a later building on the spot where Cyrus Field lived and worked
See also
In Spanish: Cyrus West Field para niños
