UNITED KINGDOM - NOVEMBER 19: One of six watercolours of the Atlantic telegraph cable laying expedition of 1866 painted by Robert Dudley. It shows an interior scene of the �Great Eastern� with a group of men gathered to watch a message being transmitted by cable. In 1866 Isambard Kingdom Brunel�s �Great Eastern� became the first ship to successfully lay a permanent communications cable across the Atlantic from Ireland to Newfoundland, following failed attempts in 1858 and 1865. The expedition also managed to repair the abandoned 1865 cable. The use of cable to relay telegraph messages reduced transatlantic communication times from the length of a sea voyage to a few seconds. (Photo by SSPL/Getty Images)
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SSPL Science & Society Picture Library