Cyrus West Field
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| Cyrus West Field | |
|---|---|
| Image:CyrusField.jpg Cyrus West Field c. 1858 | |
| Born | November 30, 1819 Stockbridge, Massachusetts |
| Died | July 12, 1892 (age 72) Irvington, New York |
| Occupation | Businessman and financier |
| Spouse | Mary Bryan Stone (m. December 2, 1840) |
| Children | Four sons, three daughters |
| Parents | David Dudley Field |
Cyrus West Field (November 30, 1819 – July 12, 1892) was an American businessman and financier who led the Atlantic Telegraph Company, the company that successfully laid the first telegraph cable across the Atlantic Ocean in 1858. The cable broke down three weeks afterward. In 1866, Field laid a new, more durable cable which provided almost instant communication across the Atlantic. On his return to Newfoundland, he grappled the cable he had attempted to lay the previous year and which had parted in mid-ocean, reattached it to new wire, thus allowing for a second, backup wire for communication. In December 1884, the Canadian Pacific Railway named the community of Field, British Columbia, Canada in his honor. Bad investments left Field bankrupt at the end of his life.
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[edit] Early life
He was born in Stockbridge, Massachusetts to David Dudley Field, a clergyman. He was the brother of David Dudley Field, Henry Martyn Field, and Stephen Johnson Field. When he was 15 years old, he moved to New York City, and after three years he returned to Stockbridge. He moved back to New York City around 1840. Profits from his business ventures permitted him to retire at the age 33 with a fortune of $250,000. He and his wife Mary Bryan Stone had 7 children.
[edit] Fiction
- Stefan Zweig narrates the telegraph cable across the Atlantic Ocean story in Amsterdam
[edit] Non-Fiction
A Thread Across the Ocean: The Heroic Story of the Transatlantic Cable, John Steele Gordon, Harper Perennial, 2003
[edit] See also
- Transatlantic telegraph cable
- Cyrus West Field
[edit] External links
- Cyrus Field Photographs, Portraits and Medals
- atlantic-cable.com, a comprehensive history of Atlantic telegraph cables
- PBS, American Experience: The Great Transatlantic Cable
- History Channel, Modern Marvels: Transatlantic Cable: 2500 Miles of Copper
- "Cable Ready" - Failure Magazine, December, 2002
- Harper's Weekly feature cartoon about the first attempt to lay a transatlantic telegraph cable, May 16, 1857.
- Descendants of Cyrus West Field by Diane Druin Gravlee
- Cyrus West Field biography in Encyclopedia Britannicade:Cyrus W. Field
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