Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
September 16, 2000 A new version of the Mark Twain Memorial Bridge, spanning the Mississippi River between Missouri and Illinois, was formally opened to a great deal of fanfare. This through truss bridge connects the Missouri city of Hannibal, which had been the childhood home of renowned writer and humorist Mark Twain (the pen name... Continue Reading →
Alfonso Sanchez Bermudez, head keeper of the Isla Caja de Muertos Lighthouse (located just off the coast of southern Puerto Rico), performed a lifesaving action in September 1916 that would earn him a formal commendation. This action involved rescuing a man who, while sailing in the vicinity of the lighthouse, found himself in danger of... Continue Reading →
September 14, 1934 The first flight of a newly organized Mexican airline took place between Mexico City and Acapulco. Aeronaves de México was founded by banker and entrepreneur Antonio Díaz Lombardo. He appreciated the tourist potential of the seaport city of Acapulco on Mexico’s Pacific coast and saw regular airborne service as one of the... Continue Reading →
September 13, 1955 Carl W. Brown, who established himself as prominent highways leader not only within his home state of Missouri but at the national level, died in the city of Fulton in the Show-Me State. He was 68. Brown was born on January 7, 1887, in the city of Vandalia, Missouri. He received his... Continue Reading →
September 10, 1823 The Champlain Canal in New York was officially opened in its entirety. The preliminary surveys for the development of this 60-mile (96.6 kilometer)-long canal, which connects the southern end of Lake Champlain with the Hudson River, had been conducted on behalf of the Empire State by an engineer named Colonel Lewis Garin.... Continue Reading →
September 9, 1911 The world’s first scheduled mail delivery via plane took place in England when pioneer aviator Gustav Hamel flew a Blériot XI aircraft between the Hendon airfield in north London and the Great Park (located just south of the royal residence of Windsor Castle). King George V had given permission for Hamel’s plane and... Continue Reading →
September 8, 1883 The Northern Pacific Railway, the first of the northern transcontinental railroads, was officially completed in an extravagant ceremony near Gold Creek in the southwestern part of the Montana Territory (now the state of Montana). This railway line, spanning across the northern tier of the western United States, provided what would become a... Continue Reading →
September 7, 1918 USS Falcon (AM-28), the third U.S. Navy vessel bearing that name, was launched at the yard of the shipbuilding firm collectively known at the time as the Gas Engine & Power Company and Charles L. Seabury Company. (That shipbuilding firm had been formed by the merger of the Gas Engine & Power... Continue Reading →
September 3, 2008 A 44-year-old vessel was acquired by the Brazilian Navy for service as an oceanographic research ship in the Antarctic region. This addition to that navy’s Brazilian Antarctic Program was renamed the Almirante Maximiano in honor of Admiral Maximiano Eduardo da Silva Fonseca (1919-1998). A longtime Brazilian naval officer, Maximiano da Fonesca served... Continue Reading →
September 2, 1892 A bicycle relay race between Washington, D.C., and Pittsburgh began in the former of those two cities. This major event was organized and sponsored by the Pittsburgh Leader newspaper. The stated purpose of the race was to have dozens of bicyclists take turns carrying a message from U.S. Army Brigadier General Albert... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 