On August 20, 1911, the New York Times decided to test how fast a telegraph message could be relayed around the globe via telegraph cable.
The message (simply, “This message sent around the world”) left the dispatch room on the 17th floor of the company’s New York building at 7 p.m.
From there, the message traveled more than 28,000 miles, being relayed by 16 operators through San Francisco, Honolulu, Midway Island, Manila, Hong Kong, Saigon, Singapore, Madras, Bombay, Aden, Suez, Port Said, Alexandria, Malta, Gibraltar, Lisbon, and the Azores.
The message made it back to the New York operator 16.5 minutes later—the fastest time achieved by a cablegram since the opening of the Commercial Cable Company’s Pacific cable in 1900.
Today, the building where the Times dispatched its historic message is called One Times Square. You know it as the site of the famed New Year’s Eve ball drop each year.
Filed Under: M2M (machine to machine)