Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
August 4, 1999 In the Netherlands, a vessel built to serve as a training ship for the Brazilian Navy was christened and launched. Cisne Branco, which means “White Swan” in Brazil’s official language of Portuguese, is a full-rigged tall ship (a large sailing vessel) that was constructed by the Dutch company Damen Shipyards Group. This... Continue Reading →
August 2, 1870 The world’s first underground tube subway opened in London, England. The Tower Subway was created to provide railway service beneath the Thames River. The leading engineers involved in the design and construction of this pioneering subway were Peter W. Barlow (1809-1885) and his assistant John Henry Greathead (1844-1896). As the key part... Continue Reading →
August 1, 1896 In the northeastern part of the present-day Republic of Ireland, a railway station was opened in the town and townland (division) of Ardee in County Louth. At that time, the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland were merged together as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland; this sovereign state remained... Continue Reading →
July 20, 1976 In Belgium, the Joséphine-Charlotte station on Line 1B (now Line 1) of the Brussels Metro was officially opened. The Brussels Metro is a rapid transit system serving a large portion of the Brussels-Capital Region. This region encompasses a total of 19 municipalities, including Belgium’s capital city of Brussels. The Joséphine-Charlotte station is... Continue Reading →
July 13, 1919 The first two-way air crossing of the Atlantic Ocean was completed by Major George Herbert Scott of the British Royal Air Force. The aircraft used for this crossing was the military airship R34, which had been built by the British engineering conglomerate William Beardmore and Company. On July 2, Scott -- along... Continue Reading →
July 11, 2008 In eastern Poland, a long-awaited bridge in the city of Pulawy was officially opened. This arch bridge, which spans the Vistula (the country’s longest river), carries motor vehicles, bicycles, and pedestrians. Construction on the bridge began on March 7, 2006. The European Regional Development Fund helped provide financing for this project. Those... Continue Reading →
July 6, 1946 An airport of the United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force (RAF) was formally handed over free of charge to the government of Iceland. This military airport, located on the outskirts of Iceland’s capital city of Reykjavík, was transferred to that Nordic island country about 14 months after World War II in the European... Continue Reading →
July 5, 2003 In southern Italy, the Materdei station of the rapid transit system serving Naples was officially opened. This station is one of 18 on Line 1 of the Naples Metro. The Materdei station owes its name to the Naples neighborhood in which it is located. This station was designed by Milan-born architect Alessandro... Continue Reading →
June 29, 2012 In western Switzerland’s canton (member state) of Vaud, a railway station was formally inaugurated in the municipality of Prilly. (This municipality is a western suburb of Lausanne, the capital of Vaud, and located near that city’s district of Malley.) It took three-and-a-half years for Switzerland’s national railway company Swiss Federal Railways (also... Continue Reading →
June 28, 2015 An apostrophe-shaped, cantilevered swing bridge built for pedestrians and bicyclists only was officially opened in the port city and unitary authority of Kingston upon Hull (also known simply as Hull) in northeastern England. This bridge spans the local harbor, which connects with the River Humber, and serves as a link between Scale... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 