Telegraph Key Used by Theodore Haubner to Send One of the First "SOS" Distress Signal on August 11, 1909
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In 1909, telegraph operator Theodore Haubner sent the first American ship-to-shore wireless distress signal -- SOS -- using this telegraph key. Haubner was aboard the SS Arapahoe off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, when it became disabled.
In 1909, telegraph operator Theodore Haubner sent the first American ship-to-shore wireless distress signal -- SOS -- using this telegraph key. Haubner was aboard the SS Arapahoe off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, when it became disabled.
Artifact
Telegraph key
Date Made
circa 1900
Subject Date
11 August 1909
On Exhibit
at Henry Ford Museum in Driving America
Object ID
68.2.3
Credit
From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of Dorothy S. Haubner.
Material
Brass (Alloy)
Dimensions
Width: 2 in
Length: 5 in
Inscriptions
Stamped on base: J.H. BUNNELL & CO. / NEW YORK, U.S.A.
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