Events on October 24 in history

First transcontinental telegraph (October 24, 1861)

The first transcontinental telegraph line across the United States is completed.

The first transcontinental telegraph (completed October 24, 1861) was a line that connected the existing telegraph network in the eastern United States to a small network in California, by means of a link between Omaha, Nebraska and Carson City, Nevada, via Salt Lake City. It was a milestone in electrical engineering and in the formation of the United States of America. It served as the only method of near-instantaneous communication between the east and west coasts during the 1860s. For comparison, in 1841, it had taken 110 days for the news of the death of President William Henry Harrison to reach Los Angeles.

References

First transcontinental telegraph

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Events on 1861

19 Jan

Georgia (U.S. state)
American Civil War: Georgia joins South Carolina, Florida, Mississippi, and Alabama in declaring secession from the United States.
21 Jan

Jefferson Davis
American Civil War: Jefferson Davis resigns from the United States Senate.
20 Apr

Robert E. Lee
American Civil War: Robert E. Lee resigns his commission in the United States Army in order to command the forces of the state of Virginia.
8 May

Richmond, Virginia
American Civil War: Richmond, Virginia is named the capital of the Confederate States of America.
6 Sep

Ulysses S. Grant
American Civil War: Forces under Union General Ulysses S. Grant bloodlessly capture Paducah, Kentucky, giving the Union control of the Tennessee River's mouth.

Events on October 24 in history

First transcontinental telegraph (October 24, 1861)

References

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Events on 1861

Georgia (U.S. state)

Jefferson Davis

Robert E. Lee

Richmond, Virginia

Ulysses S. Grant