Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
July 19, 1869 Masonry construction was completed on a new lighthouse in the Celtic Sea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. This took place nearly five years after William Douglass, the engineer supervising the project, laid the first stone of the structure. This lighthouse is located on a rock that is 18 nautical miles... Continue Reading →
July 18, 1924 After more than three decades of service, the Belleville funicular tramway in Paris ceased operations. This railway consisted of cable cars connecting the Place de la la République (Republic Square) in the north-central region of France’s capital city with Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Belleville, a major church on a hill in northeastern Paris’s Belleville... Continue Reading →
July 17, 2012 A terminal station that had been built to serve Humberto Delgado Airport (Aeroporto Humberto Delgado) and is located on the Red Line of the Lisbon Metro – the rapid transit station operating in the metropolitan area centered on Portugal’s capital city – was officially opened. Humberto Delgado Airport, which is informally known... Continue Reading →
July 10, 1908 The Thamshavn Line, Norway’s first electric railway, made its debut. The initial segment of this trailblazing line was formally opened by Norway’s King Haakon VII (1872-1957). This railway was built to carry ore from the mines at the village of Løkken Verk in central Norway to the ports of Orkanger and Thamshavn... Continue Reading →
June 25, 1982 In Switzerland, the Furka Base Tunnel connecting the village of Oberwald with the municipality of Realp was opened. At the time, this structure was the world’s longest narrow-gauge tunnel. This 9.6-mile (15.4-kilometer)-long rail tunnel, which took nine years to build in the face of formidable engineering challenges, has made it possible for the Matterhorn-Gotthard-Bahn... Continue Reading →
June 24, 1981 The Humber Bridge in northeastern England was opened to traffic. This 7,280-foot (2,220-meter)-long single-span suspension bridge carries the A15 road over the Humber -- a large tidal estuary jointly formed by the rivers Trent and Ouse -- between the town and civil parish of Barton-upon-Humber on the south bank; and the town, civil... Continue Reading →
June 17, 1945 Eddy Merckx, who would achieve unparalleled success as a rider in competitive cycling, was born in the town of Meensel-Kiezegem (part of the municipality of Tielt-Winge) in Belgium. He grew up in the municipality of Woluwe-Sain-Pierre, which is 20.7 miles (33.4 kilometers) southwest of Meensel-Kiezegem. Merckx developed a passion for cycling early... Continue Reading →
June 12, 2004 In the western region of the Federal Republic of Germany, a train station at Cologne Bonn Airport made its formal debut. Cologne/Bonn Airport station was officially opened by Gerard Schröder, who served as chancellor of Germany from 1998 to 2005. Construction on this four-track underground station had started on January 29, 2002.... Continue Reading →
June 11, 1910 Cerchez & Co., the first aircraft company in Romania, was formally inaugurated. (At this time, the present-day republic of Romania was still a kingdom.) Cerchez & Co. was located in the town of Chitilia, which is near Romania’s capital and largest city of Bucharest. This company was owned and operated by lawyer... Continue Reading →
June 10, 2007 The first section of the LGV Est-Européenne (LGV Est) was opened for commercial service the day after that high-speed rail line made its inaugural voyage. An extension of the French high-speed rail network, this line has significantly cut travel times between Paris and major cities in eastern France. The LGV Est has similarly reduced... Continue Reading →
