Connecting the Continents: Hearts Content and the Atlantic Cable

In July of 1866, the village Heart's Content on the east coast of Newfoundland attracted the attention of Canada and the entire world. A submarine telegraph cable had been stretched across the Atlantic Ocean from Valentia, Ireland, to this little fishing community. One of the first telegraphs was exchanged between Queen Victoria in England and President Buchanan in the United States. With the help of an elite group of operators, messages could now be sent between North America and Europe in minutes instead of ten days by ship. And Heart's Content had earned its place in the history of communications.