Transatlantic Cable - 150th Anniversary

Date of Issue: August 15, 2008
Quantity Printed: 0.252 million
Illustration: Vincent Killowry
Typography & Layout: Steve Simpson
Printing Process: Lithography
Printer: Irish Security Stamp Printing Ltd.

On 16 August 1858, the first official transatlantic cable message from Europe to America was sent by Britain's Queen Victoria to James Buchanan, President of the United States.

Cyrus West Field, an American businessman, was the driving force behind the transatlantic cable connection. As well as founding the Atlantic Telegraph Company in 1856, Field also supplied a quarter of the company's capital.

While the first two attempts failed on 17 July 1858, the two ships involved, the HMS Agamemnon and the USS Niagra, set out once more on their historic mission and were successful. They connected Trinity Bay, Newfoundland, Canada with Knightstown on Valentia Island, Ireland on 5 August 1858.

Source: irishpost.ie