Encyclopedia Dubuque
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ATLANTIC & PACIFIC TELEGRAPH COMPANY: Difference between revisions
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Through several complex transactions, which included patent negotiations with inventor Thomas Edison, financier Jay Gould acquired enough shares of A&P stock to obtain control of the company by 1875. Gould's takeover was contested in litigation; meanwhile, Gould initiated a rate war with competing telegraph companies, most notably Western Union, the largest company in the industry. By 1878, Gould had sold the A&P to Western Union at a handsome profit. | Through several complex transactions, which included patent negotiations with inventor Thomas Edison, financier Jay Gould acquired enough shares of A&P stock to obtain control of the company by 1875. Gould's takeover was contested in litigation; meanwhile, Gould initiated a rate war with competing telegraph companies, most notably Western Union, the largest company in the industry. By 1878, Gould had sold the A&P to Western Union at a handsome profit. | ||
The 1870-1871 ''Dubuque City Directory'' gave the address of this business as the southeast corner of 3rd and Main. | The 1870-1871 '''Dubuque City Directory''' gave the address of this business as the southeast corner of 3rd and Main. | ||
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Latest revision as of 13:21, 16 August 2021
ATLANTIC & PACIFIC TELEGRAPH CO. The Atlantic and Pacific Telegraph Company (A&P), an American communications company that operated in the 19th century, was chartered by the legislature of Maine in 1854. The company's stated objective was to build a telegraph system extending from the East Coast to the West Coast.
In 1869 A&P leased telegraph lines from the Union Pacific Railroad (UP) and the Central Pacific Railroad, in exchange for shares of stock. Subsequently the UP attempted to retake control of the lines in order to lease them to an additional, competing telegraph company, the American Union Telegraph Company. In 1880 the A&P obtained a court injunction to prevent the UP action.
Through several complex transactions, which included patent negotiations with inventor Thomas Edison, financier Jay Gould acquired enough shares of A&P stock to obtain control of the company by 1875. Gould's takeover was contested in litigation; meanwhile, Gould initiated a rate war with competing telegraph companies, most notably Western Union, the largest company in the industry. By 1878, Gould had sold the A&P to Western Union at a handsome profit.
The 1870-1871 Dubuque City Directory gave the address of this business as the southeast corner of 3rd and Main.
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Source:
Atlantic and Pacific Telegraph Company, Wikipedia. Online: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_and_Pacific_Telegraph_Company