TR Sends the 1st Around the World Telegram
On July 4, 1903, the first "Around the World" cable was transmitted by Theodore Roosevelt from the library at Sagamore Hill.
The cable was sent late in the evening after TR had returned home from the 250th celebration of the Town of Huntington. The cable was sent to the Moore Building in Oyster Bay and then around the world. The operator sent the message at 11:23. The return was received by Clarence McKay owner of the Atlantic Cable Company at 11:35.
There's some disagreement to how long it took. Its often reported it took 9 minutes 30 seconds to go around the world, but if it left Oyster Bay at 11:23 and returned at 11:35 that meant it took 12 minutes.
The 1903 dispatch demonstrated the telegraph system worked. In hindsight, the Pacific telegraph cable contributed to a shift in dominance between two global news agencies; from Britain to the United States.
In a small building behind Moore’s Grocery was the printing office of the Oyster Bay Pilot, the first newspaper founded by Edward N. Townsend. Townsend was a strong advocate of bringing the Long Island Railroad to Oyster Bay. Townsend used the paper as his personal forum to increase support for the railroad.
LIRR finally came to Oyster Bay in June 1889 after the residents approved a right-of-way. Sunday service began in 1897.
