ABSTRACT
The development of undersea telegraphs from an experimental technology into a significant science-based industry falls exactly into the period of the 'Golden Age'. In confronting the electrical problems of submarine telegraphy - designing new instruments and techniques, coming to terms with the underlying science, measuring and standardizing units of electricity - the profession of electrical engineering came of age. The inquiry went on to interview all the leading electricians involved in the development of submarine telegraphy, a small and close-knit group yet one which held conflicting opinions about the working of long cables. The convergence of the cable and submarine telegraph industries is indicated also by a crossing over of business leaders: Glass, Gooch, and especially Pender, became pivotal figures in international telegraphy. British inland telegraphs had been nationalized in 1868, with inflated rates of compensation paid which made funds available for diversion into new submarine projects. Submarine telegraphs were a significant British industrial success story.
