Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
January 31, 1992 A memorial service was held at Morgan Hill, California, for Ole Fahlin, the world-renowned aviator and propellers manufacturer. He had passed away five days earlier in the Golden State at the age of 90. Fahlin, who was born in the locality of Bollnäs in Sweden in 1901, began pursuing a strong interest in... Continue Reading →
January 30, 1826 The Menai Suspension Bridge connecting the island of Anglesey with the mainland of Wales was opened to a great deal of fanfare. This structure, which crosses over the Menai Straits, is widely considered to be the world’s first modern suspension bridge. Prior to the bridge’s opening, the only options for traveling between... Continue Reading →
January 29, 1878 Bicycle and automobile racer Berna Eli “Barney” Oldfield was born in York Township in northwestern Ohio. Oldfield launched his career as a bicycle racer in 1894 when he was only 16. Oldfield’s bicycle accomplishments brought him to the attention of Henry Ford, who invited him to test-drive one of his automobiles designed for... Continue Reading →
January 28, 1896 The first known speeding infraction that involved a motor vehicle took place in the village of Paddock Wood in southeastern England. Walter Arnold of the nearby village of East Peckham was caught driving a Benz automobile at eight miles (13 kilometers) per hour in a two-mile (3.2-kilometer)-per-hour zone. A constable riding a bicycle... Continue Reading →
January 25, 1959 The first transcontinental commercial jet trip in the United States took place when an American Airlines Boeing 707 flew from Los Angeles to New York City. This inaugural flight began at 12:01 p.m. at Los Angeles International Airport after Bernice Brown, the wife of California Governor Edmund G. “Pat” Brown, pressed the buttons... Continue Reading →
January 24, 1954 It was the end of an era in Cleveland when that city’s streetcars made their final runs. Approximately 10,000 people – some from as far away as Maryland – showed up to bid farewell to those streetcars and take advantage of the free rides being offered on that last day of operation. Those... Continue Reading →
January 23, 1745 Civil engineer William Jessop – best known today for his prodigious work on canals, harbors, and railways – was born in the settlement of Plymouth Dock (now Devenport) in southwestern England. The significant engineering projects that Jessop helped bring to fruition include the Grand Canal of Ireland, a pair of canals connecting... Continue Reading →
January 22, 1673 The first regular overland mail-delivery service in the present-day United States was launched when a post rider departed New York City on horseback for Boston. New York Colony Governor Francis Lovelace, responding to a directive from England’s King Charles II to establish closer communications among the northern colonies in North America,... Continue Reading →
January 18, 1865 The foundation stone was laid for a lighthouse on Amédée Island, a part of what was then the French dependency of New Caledonia in the southwest Pacific Ocean. (New Caledonia was reclassified as an overseas territory of France in 1946.) Amédée Island is located about 15 miles (24 kilometers) from the present-day... Continue Reading →
January 17, 1936 The Airstream Trailer Company introduced a highly innovative and influential travel trailer. The new vehicle was called the Airstream Clipper, and the major force behind its creation was Wally Byam. He had been born in 1896 in Baker City, Oregon, and spent a great deal of his adolescence working on a sheep... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 