A Wire Across the Ocean | American Scientist
Ainissa Ramirez recounts the story of the transatlantic telegraph cable, the Apollo project of its day.
Related links
The invisible seafaring industry that keeps the internet afloat
A fascinating in-depth look at the maintenance of undersea cables:
The industry responsible for this crucial work traces its origins back far beyond the internet, past even the telephone, to the early days of telegraphy. It’s invisible, underappreciated, analog.
It’s a truism that people don’t think about infrastructure until it breaks, but they tend not to think about the fixing of it, either.
Age of Invention: The Beacons are Lit!
Or, Why wasn’t the Telegraph Invented Earlier?
A wonderful deep-dive into optical telegraphy through the ages.
A Quick History of Digital Communication Before the Internet - Eager Blog
A potted history of communication networks from the pony express and the telegraph to ethernet and wi-fi.
-… ..- .-. .-. .. – — .— ..- … – .. -.-. . | Burrito Justice
A little sojourn around the Victorian internet.