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Events on October 24 in history

First transcontinental telegraph
1861Oct, 24

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.

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Events on 1861

  • 19Jan

    Georgia (U.S. state)

    American Civil War: Georgia joins South Carolina, Florida, Mississippi, and Alabama in declaring secession from the United States.
  • 21Jan

    Jefferson Davis

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

    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.
  • 8May

    Richmond, Virginia

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

    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.