FIELD, CYRUS WEST (ante), b. Stockbridge, Mass., 1819; brother of David Dudley. He left his home at the age of 15 to enter a mercantile house in New York, and a few years later was the head of a prosperous concern. Retiring from business in 1853, he traveled for seven mouths in South America with Mr. Frederic E. Church, the artist, and on his return was applied to for aid in building a telegraph line in Newfoundland —an undertaking which had been begun, but had proved a total failure. The plan was to carry the line across that island to St. John's, the furthest point on the American coast, and there connect with a line of fast steamers, which, it was thought, could reach the nearest point in Ireland in five days. Thus America could be brought easily within a week of Europe. While Mr. Field was considering this proposal, and turning over the globe in his library, the thought flashed upon him, " Why not carry the line across the ocean?" In this was the germ of that project of an Atlantic telegraph to which he was to devote the next 13 years of his life. Having obtained, in 1854, from the legis lature of Newfoundland, the exclusive right for 50 years of lauding telegraph cables from Europe and America on the island, he formed a company known as the " New York, Newfoundland, and London Telegraph Company." In 1856, he went to London and organized the "Atlantic Telegraph Company." Mr. Field furnished one fourth of the capital, and the United States and British governments provided ships for the under taking. The expeditions of 1857, the two of 1858, and those of 1865 and 1866 were mainly due to his efforts of organization, for although the first two were failures, and the cable laid by the third worked but four weeks, he never lost faith in the enterprise.
In 1866, however, a cable was finally laid, and the cable of 1865 was picked up in mid ocean by the Great Eastern, joined to the cable on board, and the western terminus was safely landed.
The success was complete, and in both countries honors were showered upon the leaders of the expedition. In England several were knighted, and others made baronets; and the prime minister, in conferring these rewards, said that the only reason why Mr. Field was not included in them was that it was felt that any title or dignity might not be acceptable to an American citizen. But he had honors enough at home. Besides innumerable congratulations, he received the unanimous thanks of congress, with a gold medal, and other testimonials for what was recognized as one of the most remark able achievements of the century. The French exposition of 1867 awarded him the grand medal, its highest award, given only to those who were recognized as great public benefactors.
Since then, while enjoying the fruits of his chief work, he has not been idle in other directions. He has taken interest in the different submarine cables in the Mediter ranean and in the east. Within the last three years he has devoted much of his thought and of his capital to the establishment in New York of the system of elevated railroads, which have supplied a want long felt, and proved an inestimable blessing to the city. He has still one more dream of his life, to lay a telegraphic cable across the Pacific, and thus complete the circuit of the globe. See ATLANTIC TELEGRAPH.