Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
May 13, 1933 A trolleybus system made its debut in the resort town of Bournemouth on England’s southern coast. The new system was formally inaugurated by John Robert Edgecombe, the lord mayor of Bournemouth. The first of those trolleybuses to go into service was driven by William Biddlecombe. Over the next few years, this trolleybus... Continue Reading →
In 2017, entrepreneur and amateur pilot Ravinder Bansal set a new record as the first person of Indian origin to complete a solo flight around the world in a single-engine plane. Bansal was born in the city and municipal corporation of Ambala in India in 1949. By the 1970s, he had made his way to... Continue Reading →
May 11, 1930 August Charles Fruehauf, a freight transportation pioneer, died at his home in Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan, at the age of 61. Fruehauf was born in Fraser, Michigan, in 1868. By 1914, he had established himself in Detroit as a blacksmith and carriage builder. The turning point in Fruehauf’s career took place that same... Continue Reading →
May 10, 1901 George M. Hendee and Carl Oscar Hedström introduced what became the first commercially successful, gasoline-powered motorcycle in the United States. The debut and demonstration of their prototype motorcycle took place on a steep hill on Cross Street in Springfield, Massachusetts. The two men had officially entered into a business partnership only about four... Continue Reading →
May 7, 1927 A newly completed airport in the San Francisco area was inaugurated. This facility, which was officially named Mills Field Municipal Airport, had been built on 150 acres (60.7 hectares) of a cow pasture. The property was leased to the city of San Francisco by Ogden L. Mills, a member of a prominent local... Continue Reading →
May 6, 1896 An aviation milestone took place in the vicinity of Quantico, Virginia, when Aerodrome No. 5 made the first successful flights of an unpiloted, tandem-winged, engine-powered, heavier-than-air model of substantial size. (“Aerodrome” is derived from a Greek phrase that roughly means “air runner.”) Samuel Langley, who invented Aerodrome No. 5, launched it twice using... Continue Reading →
As a public health scientist, T. Bella Dinh-Zarr has focused on promoting safe and sustainable transportation both within the United States and across the globe. Dinh-Zarr began her life’s journey in Vietnam. When she was only four years old, Dinh-Zarr and her family fled that country for the United States. They settled in Galveston, Texas,... Continue Reading →
May 4, 1935 In the southwestern corner of Michigan, a new milestone for travel in the United States took place with the opening of the nation’s first official highway welcome center at a state border to assist tourists. The new travel lodge and information bureau was built along U.S. Highway 12, south of the city of... Continue Reading →
May 3, 2017 At 3:30 p.m., a pivotal moment in the construction of the Mӕlefjell Tunnel between the municipalities of Seljord and Hjartdal in southeastern Norway took place when both halves of the structure were joined together. This breakthrough occurred four years after the construction company NCC had begun building the road tunnel. “I’ve been... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 