The Project Gutenberg EBook of Masters of Space, by Walter Kellogg Towers

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Title: Masters of Space Morse, Thompson, Bell, Marconi, Carty

Author: Walter Kellogg Towers

Release Date: May 18, 2004 [EBook #12375]

Language: English

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MASTERS OF SPACE ***

Produced by Leah Moser and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team.

[Illustration: SAMUEL FINLEY BREESE MORSE

Inventor of the Telegraph]

MASTERS OF SPACE

  MORSE
  and the Telegraph
  THOMPSON
  and the Cable
  BELL
  and the Telephone
  MARCONI
  and the Wireless Telegraph
  CARTY
  and the Wireless Telephone

BY WALTER KELLOGG TOWERS

ILLUSTRATED

1917

TO

MY CO-LABORER AND COMPANION

BERENICE LAURA TOWERS

WHOSE ENCOURAGEMENT AND ASSISTANCE

WERE CONSTANT IN THE GATHERING

AND PREPARATION OF MATERIAL

FOR THIS VOLUME.

CONTENTS

CHAP.

PREFACE

I. COMMUNICATION AMONG THE ANCIENTS

II. SIGNALS PAST AND PRESENT

III. FORERUNNERS OF THE TELEGRAPH

IV. INVENTIONS OF SIR CHARLES WHEATSTONE

V. THE ACHIEVEMENT OF MORSE

VI. "WHAT HATH GOD WROUGHT?"

VII. DEVELOPMENT OF THE TELEGRAPH SYSTEM

VIII. TELEGRAPHING BENEATH THE SEA

IX. THE PIONEER ATLANTIC CABLE

X. A SUCCESSFUL CABLE ATTAINED

XI. ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL, THE YOUTH

XII. THE BIRTH OF THE TELEPHONE

XIII. THE TELEPHONE AT THE CENTENNIAL

XIV. IMPROVEMENT AND EXPANSION

XV. TELEGRAPHING WITHOUT WIRES

XVI. AN ITALIAN BOY'S WORK

XVII. WIRELESS TELEGRAPHY ESTABLISHED

XVIII. THE WIRELESS SERVES THE WORLD

XIX. SPEAKING ACROSS THE CONTINENT

XX. TELEPHONING THROUGH SPACE

APPENDIX A

APPENDIX B

INDEX

ILLUSTRATIONS

SAMUEL FINLEY BREESE MORSE

MORSE'S FIRST TELEGRAPH INSTRUMENT

CYRUS W. FIELD

WILLIAM THOMSON (LORD KELVIN)

THE "GREAT EASTERN" LAYING THE ATLANTIC CABLE, 1866

ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL

THOMAS A. WATSON

PROFESSOR BELL'S VIBRATING REED

PROFESSOR BELL'S FIRST TELEPHONE

THE FIRST TELEPHONE SWITCHBOARD USED IN NEW HAVEN, CONN., FOR EIGHT SUBSCRIBERS

EARLY NEW YORK EXCHANGE

PROFESSOR BELL IN SALEM, MASS., AND MR. WATSON IN BOSTON, DEMONSTRATING THE TELEPHONE BEFORE AUDIENCES IN 1877

DOCTOR BELL AT THE TELEPHONE OPENING THE NEW YORK-CHICAGO LINE, OCTOBER 18, 1892

GUGLIELMO MARCONI

A REMARKABLE PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN OUTSIDE OF THE CLIFDEN STATION WHILE MESSAGES WERE BEING SENT ACROSS TO CAPE RACE

MARCONI STATION AT CLIFDEN, IRELAND

PREFACE

This is the story of talking at a distance, of sending messages through space. It is the story of great men—Morse, Thomson, Bell, Marconi, and others—and how, with the aid of men like Field, Vail, Catty, Pupin, the scientist, and others in both the technical and commercial fields, they succeeded in flashing both messages and speech around the world, with wires and without wires. It is the story of how the thought of the world has been linked together by those modern wonders of science and of industry—the telegraph, the submarine cable, the telephone, the wireless telegraph, and, most recently, the wireless telephone.

The story opens with the primitive methods of message-sending by fire or smoke or other signals. The life and experiments of Morse are then pictured and the dramatic story of the invention and development of the telegraph is set forth. The submarine cable followed with the struggles of Field, the business executive, and Thomson, the inventor and scientific expert, which finally culminated in success when the Great Eastern landed a practical cable on the American coast. The early life of Alexander Graham Bell was full of color, and I have told the story of his patient investigations of human speech and hearing, which, finally culminated in a practical telephone. There follows the fascinating story of Marconi and the wireless telegraph. Last comes the story of the wireless telephone, that newest wonder which has come among us so recently that we can scarcely realize that it is here. An inner view of the marvelous development of the telephone is added in an appendix.

The part played by the great business leaders who have developed and extended the new inventions, placing them at the service of all, has not been forgotten. Not only have means of communication been discovered, but they have been improved and put to the widest practical use with remarkable efficiency and celerity. The stories of these developments, in both the personal and executive sides, embody the true romance of the modern business world.

The great scientists and engineers who have wrought these wonders which have had so profound an influence upon the life of the world lived, and are living, lives filled with patient effort, discouragement, accomplishment, and real romance. They are interesting men who have done interesting things. Better still, they have done important, useful things. This book relates their life stories in a connected form, for they have all worked for a similar end. The story of these men, who, starting in early youth in the pursuit of a great idea, have achieved fame and success and have benefited civilization, cannot but be inspiring. They did not stumble upon their discoveries by any lucky accident. They knew what they sought, and they labored toward the goal with unflagging zeal. Had they been easily discouraged we might still be dependent upon the semaphore and the pony express for the transmission of news. But they persevered until success was attained, and in the account of their struggle to success every one may find encouragement in facing his own tasks.

One can scarce overestimate the value of modern methods of communication to the world. So much of our development has been more or less directly dependent upon it that it is difficult to fancy our situation without the telegraph and telephone. The diligence with which the ancients sought speedy methods for the sending of messages demonstrates the human need for them.