Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
October 28, 1945 In Colorado, an airport located 3.7 miles (six kilometers) southwest of the central business district of the city of Longmont was inaugurated. The public debut of this facility, which was originally called Longmont Municipal Airport, marked a milestone for aviation in that region of the Centennial State. The opening of this city-owned,... Continue Reading →
October 27, 1999 Eugenia da Montijo station was opened as an infill station of Line 5 of the Madrid Metro, a rapid transit system serving the metropolitan area of Spain’s capital city. An infill station is a type of passenger rail station that is built on an existing line between two similar stations already in... Continue Reading →
October 26, 1881 Racing cyclist Louis Bastien was born in Paris. He established himself as a formidable and highly competitive cyclist while he was still a teenager. At the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris, Bastien won a gold medal for finishing first in the 25-kilometre (15.5.-mile) race. Bastien was also an accomplished fencer. He died... Continue Reading →
October 23, 1943 A little over ten months after being launched by Basalt Rock Company in Napa, California, a rescue and salvage ship was commissioned into the U.S. Navy as USS Diver (ARS-5). This ship, which was paced under the command of Lieutenant Alexis T. Terrio (1902-1985), began her military service at a time when... Continue Reading →
October 22, 1925 A technological milestone for locomotives in the United States took place when the Central Railroad of New Jersey (CNJ) began using diesel-electric locomotive No. 1000 to switch freight cars at the Bronx Terminal in New York City. This 300-horsepower (304.2-metric horsepower) boxcab – also widely characterized at the time as an oil-electric... Continue Reading →
October 21, 1970 A suspension bridge crossing the Little Belt strait in Denmark was opened. This bridge, which carries six lanes of the international highway European route E20, serves as a link between Denmark’s portion of the Jutland Peninsula and the Danish island of Funen. This 5,577.4-foot (1,700-meter)-long bridge was built to reduce ever-growing traffic... Continue Reading →
October 20, 2014 About four-and-a-half months after it was launched, a rail-based public transportation system in Mongolia’s capital of Ulaanbaatar officially expanded operations beyond that city’s limits. This extension of the Ulaanbaatar Railbus consists of a suburban line that provides express service between Ulaanbaatar and the city of Darkhan, with an intermediate stop in the... Continue Reading →
October 19, 1875 In the northern part of Michigan, a lighthouse built on Menagerie Island within the northwest corner of Lake Superior was first lit. Menagerie Island is a small island off the southern coast of Isle Royale, which is the largest natural island in Lake Superior, the second largest island in all of the... Continue Reading →
Professional stock car racing driver Michael Lira, who is of Peruvian descent, was born to Carlos and Amanda Lira on July 16, 1997. Fittingly enough, Michael’s birthplace was Daytona Beach, Florida, a city that is famous worldwide as both a venue for major motorsports events and the headquarters of the National Association for Stock Car... Continue Reading →
Sheldon “Red” Chaney (1916-1997) opened what would become a highly popular restaurant along the portion of U.S. Highway 66 (Route 66) in Springfield, Missouri. He and his wife Julia Elizabeth Etter Chaney (1914-2006) moved to Springfield not long after he completed his military service during World War II. As a new resident of Springfield, Red... Continue Reading →
