Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
January 9, 1916 SS Duilio was launched at the Ansaldo Shipyard in the city of Genoa in northwestern Italy. This ship was the first Italian super ocean liner and ultimately became one of that country’s largest vessels. The Duilio was built for use by the Italian shipping company Navigazione Generale Italiana (NGI). The vessel’s name was... Continue Reading →
January 8, 1867 George Pilkington Mills, who earned acclaim as a formidable competitor in races involving various modes of transportation, was born in Paddington (an area in the City of Westminster within central London). Mills firmly established himself as the preeminent English racing cyclist of his generation. He set numerous racing records on both bicycles... Continue Reading →
January 7, 1946 On New Zealand’s North Island, a railway station in the city of Lower Hutt was officially opened. (At the time, New Zealand was still a dominion of the British Empire; it achieved full autonomy the following year.) This station serves Lower Hutt’s suburbs of Naenae and Avalon. The Naenae railway station, as... Continue Reading →
January 6, 1854 William Nelson Page, a civil engineer and industrialist who proved to be instrumental in the development of key railway routes within both Virginia and West Virginia, was born in Campbell County, Virginia. Page received his education in engineering at the University of Virginia and leveraged both that expertise and his considerable energies into... Continue Reading →
In Toronto, a dedication ceremony was held for a set of highway bridges crossing the Don River Valley’s West Branch in the city’s neighborhood of Hoggs Hollow. These bridges, now collectively known as Hogg’s Hollow Bridge, were formally opened to traffic at three o’clock that Saturday afternoon. More than 1,000 people attended this event and... Continue Reading →
January 2, 1923 “The old year is dead, prosperous live the new year,” asserted the Washington Post on New Year’s Day in 1923. “Now that the world is changing its calendar, writing another numeral at the end of its date lines, it is profitable to strike balances and to determine what is due in the... Continue Reading →
December 31, 1909 On New Year’s Eve, inventor and mechanic Henry Ferguson (1884-1960) became the first person to fly a heavier-than-air aircraft in Ireland. This pioneering flight took place in the village and civil parish of Hillsborough, which is 12 miles (19 kilometers) south of the city of Belfast in what is now officially known... Continue Reading →
December 30, 1904 The East Boston Tunnel in the capital of Massachusetts was formally opened to the public. This tunnel became a key link in a streetcar route that originated at Court Street in the downtown area of the city, then coursed under Boston Harbor, and ultimately ended at Maverick Square in East Boston. (A... Continue Reading →
December 29, 1959 The MV Coho, a ferry operated by the Black Ball Line between Victoria in the Canadian province of British Columbia and Port Angeles in Washington State, first went into regular service. This 341.5-foot (104.1-meter)-long ferry was designed by the Seattle-based firm Philip F. Spaulding & Associates and built by Puget Sound Bridge... Continue Reading →
December 24, 1801 A steam-powered road vehicle was introduced to the public during a test run that began in southwestern England’s town of Camborne. This full-sized vehicle had been designed and built by Richard Trevithick (1771-1833), a prolific inventor and mining engineer from that region. Trevithick nicknamed his creation the Puffing Devil. Six passengers were... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 