Title
Album documenting the laying of the Manila-Guam-Midway-Honolulu sections of the Pacific submarine cable
Reference
MS/0461/3
Production date
1903 - 1903
Creator
- Lucas, Francis RobertBiographyBiography
(1849-1931), telegraph engineer
Francis Robert Lucas, born in in 1849, was a telegraph engineer, working from 1856 at the Telegraph Construction and Maintenance Co. (Telcon) at Enderby’s Wharf in Greenwich. He was involved in laying submarine cable, succeeding Henry Clifford as Chief Engineer in 1893, and becoming Managing Director in 1906 until his retirement in 1925. He participated in the cable laying voyages of SS 'Great Eastern' in 1878; invented a wire-sounding machine which was first used on the cable laying ship the 'Alert' in 1887; invented a type of oceanographic sounding machine in 1891; patented a scoop sounder, an instrument also known as the 'snapper' which was used when cable laying.
He was married to Katherine and they were the parents of Ralph Lucas (1876-1955), designer and builder of motor cars. Francis died in 1931.
Scope and Content
Volume includes press cuttings, printed programme re laying, details of officers, crew and cable staff of Colonia and Anglia, of loading of the cable ships and journals of the voyages of both, of abstracts of Engineer's log, photos (46), copy telegrams, correspondence, report to Shuter.
Extent
1 volume
Language
English
Level of description
FILE
Repository name
Science Museum, London
Conditions governing access
Open Access
Conditions governing Reproduction
Copies may be supplied in accordance with current copyright legislation and Science Museum Group terms and conditions
System of arrangement
MS/0461-MS/464 are all part of 1984-1432