Milestone-Proposal:French Transatlantic Telegraph Cable of 1898

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Docket #:2015-12

This Proposal has been approved, and is now a Milestone

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To the proposer’s knowledge, is this achievement subject to litigation? No

Is the achievement you are proposing more than 25 years old? Yes

Is the achievement you are proposing within IEEE’s designated fields as defined by IEEE Bylaw I-104.11, namely: Engineering, Computer Sciences and Information Technology, Physical Sciences, Biological and Medical Sciences, Mathematics, Technical Communications, Education, Management, and Law and Policy. Yes

Did the achievement provide a meaningful benefit for humanity? Yes

Was it of at least regional importance? Yes

Has an IEEE Organizational Unit agreed to pay for the milestone plaque(s)? Yes

Has an IEEE Organizational Unit agreed to arrange the dedication ceremony? Yes

Has the IEEE Section in which the milestone is located agreed to take responsibility for the plaque after it is dedicated? Yes

Has the owner of the site agreed to have it designated as an IEEE Milestone? Yes

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Year or range of years in which the achievement occurred:

1896 to removed from service c1959

Title of the proposed milestone:

The French transatlantic telegraph cable - 'le direct' of 1898

NB engineering began in 1896 but the cable became operational in 1898.

Plaque citation summarizing the achievement and its significance:

The citation (English) is currently being designed with interested parties from France.

200-250 word abstract describing the significance of the technical achievement being proposed, the person(s) involved, historical context, humanitarian and social impact, as well as any possible controversies the advocate might need to review.

IEEE technical societies and technical councils within whose fields of interest the Milestone proposal resides.

In what IEEE section(s) does it reside?

Location Cape Cod: Providence Section Location France: Oceanic Engineering Society (France, near Brest or town of Locmarie-Plouzane

IEEE Organizational Unit(s) which have agreed to sponsor the Milestone:

IEEE Organizational Unit(s) paying for milestone plaque(s):

Unit: Oceanic Engineering Society (France)
Senior Officer Name: Dr. Rene Garello

Unit: Providence Section
Senior Officer Name: Cathy Ann Clark

Unit: Providence OES Chapter
Senior Officer Name: Albert J Williams

IEEE Organizational Unit(s) arranging the dedication ceremony:

Unit: Providence Section
Senior Officer Name: Cathy Ann Clark

Unit: Oceanic Engineering Society (France)
Senior Officer Name: Dr. Rene Garello

IEEE section(s) monitoring the plaque(s):

IEEE Section: Providence Section
IEEE Section Chair name: Cathy Ann Clark

Milestone proposer(s):

Proposer name: Steven Crocker
Proposer email: Proposer's email masked to public

Proposer name: Gilmore Cooke, SLM
Proposer email: Proposer's email masked to public

Please note: your email address and contact information will be masked on the website for privacy reasons. Only IEEE History Center Staff will be able to view the email address.

Street address(es) and GPS coordinates in decimal form of the intended milestone plaque site(s):

Location Cape Cod: at the French Cable Station Museum, 41 Route 28 at Cove Road, Orleans Massachusetts, 02653. USA

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Location France: tentatively in Brest or town of Locmarie-Plouzane, Brittany France. This is being determined.

Describe briefly the intended site(s) of the milestone plaque(s). The intended site(s) must have a direct connection with the achievement (e.g. where developed, invented, tested, demonstrated, installed, or operated, etc.). A museum where a device or example of the technology is displayed, or the university where the inventor studied, are not, in themselves, sufficient connection for a milestone plaque.

Please give the address(es) of the plaque site(s) (GPS coordinates if you have them). Also please give the details of the mounting, i.e. on the outside of the building, in the ground floor entrance hall, on a plinth on the grounds, etc. If visitors to the plaque site will need to go through security, or make an appointment, please give the contact information visitors will need.

Are the original buildings extant?

yes.

Details of the plaque mounting:

Attached to the exterior of the main entrance of the French Cable Museum.

How is the site protected/secured, and in what ways is it accessible to the public?

The plaque will be mounted outside the building facing a major sidewalk in the town of Orleans MA. The address is 41 Route 28 at Cove Road, Orleans MA.

Who is the present owner of the site(s)?

The French Cable Station Museum

What is the historical significance of the work (its technological, scientific, or social importance)? If personal names are included in citation, include justification here. (see section 6 of Milestone Guidelines)

Between the years 1869 to 1896, there were three submarine cables directly connecting Brest France to the United States at Cape Cod. The last submarine cable of 1896 was especially noteworthy because it was the longest at the time and pulled directly to the French Cable Station, now a museum. The last cable was an attempt by a French enterprise .. built and installed by French providers and operaftors. This project was entirely developed, financed, managed, and operated by a French enterprise, in stark contrast to the well established norms from the UK. The cable routing avoided English soil.

What obstacles (technical, political, geographic) needed to be overcome?

Later

What features set this work apart from similar achievements?

Later

Supporting texts and citations to establish the dates, location, and importance of the achievement: Minimum of five (5), but as many as needed to support the milestone, such as patents, contemporary newspaper articles, journal articles, or chapters in scholarly books. 'Scholarly' is defined as peer-reviewed, with references, and published. You must supply the texts or excerpts themselves, not just the references. At least one of the references must be from a scholarly book or journal article. All supporting materials must be in English, or accompanied by an English translation.

Later

Supporting materials (supported formats: GIF, JPEG, PNG, PDF, DOC): All supporting materials must be in English, or if not in English, accompanied by an English translation. You must supply the texts or excerpts themselves, not just the references. For documents that are copyright-encumbered, or which you do not have rights to post, email the documents themselves to ieee-history@ieee.org. Please see the Milestone Program Guidelines for more information.

Later

Please email a jpeg or PDF a letter in English, or with English translation, from the site owner(s) giving permission to place IEEE milestone plaque on the property, and a letter (or forwarded email) from the appropriate Section Chair supporting the Milestone application to ieee-history@ieee.org with the subject line "Attention: Milestone Administrator." Note that there are multiple texts of the letter depending on whether an IEEE organizational unit other than the section will be paying for the plaque(s).

Please recommend reviewers by emailing their names and email addresses to ieee-history@ieee.org. Please include the docket number and brief title of your proposal in the subject line of all emails.