First protected submarine telegraph cable laid across the English Channel
- When
- 1850–1851
- Where
- English Channel
- Episodes
- 2
The first protected submarine telegraph cable across the English Channel was laid in September 1851 by the reconstituted Submarine Telegraph Company using the government hulk Blazer. This followed an August 1850 attempt by John Watkins Brett's company, which secured a concession renewal. The event marks the transition from experimental lines to protected infrastructure between England and France.
Episodes
- First Line Across the Channel
John Watkins Brett's company laid the first line across the English Channel in August 1850 using the tugboat Goliath, securing a concession renewal.
- Protected Cable Laying
The reconstituted Submarine Telegraph Company laid a protected core cable in September 1851 using the government hulk Blazer.
Background and detail
Prior Attempt. In August 1850, John Watkins Brett's English Channel Submarine Telegraph Company laid the first line across the English Channel using the converted tugboat Goliath. Although this initial experiment was not a permanent success, it served to secure the renewal of the concession from the French government, enabling subsequent protected cable laying.
Protected Cable. In September 1851, a protected core, or true, cable was laid by the reconstituted Submarine Telegraph Company. The operation utilized a government hulk named Blazer, which was towed across the Channel. This development followed the earlier unarmored attempts and established a more robust infrastructure for telegraphy between the regions.
Sources
- Submarine communications cable Wikipedia, revision of 2026-10-05
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.