Cyrus Field Road
Village of Irvington, Westchester County, New York
Marker Inscription
Cyrus Field Road Village of Irvington Dedicated to the memory of Cyrus W. Field father of the first transatlantic cable opened to the public December 5th, 1931 Mayor Herbeth C. Dickinson Trustees Alexander D. Simpson John F. Tewey Dr. Charles J. McClure V. F. DiLustro Dan C. Nolan Jr. Engineer Molly & Murray Cont'g Co Contractors… transcription continues on the marker
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The Story
In an age when a message could only cross the ocean as fast as a ship could carry it, the New York financier Cyrus W. Field spent years and several heartbreaking failures trying to lay a telegraph cable across the floor of the Atlantic. His persistence paid off in 1866, when a working line finally linked North America and Europe and let words leap between continents in minutes rather than weeks. Field made his home in the Hudson River village of Irvington, which honored its most famous resident by naming this road for him and dedicating it in December 1931.
Why it matters
Field's transatlantic cable was one of the great engineering gambles of the nineteenth century, collapsing the distance between continents and laying the groundwork for the instantly connected world we live in today.
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Related people
- · Cyrus W. Field
- · Herbeth C. Dickinson
Related events
- · First transatlantic telegraph cable
Themes & tags
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