Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
February 11, 1888 Construction began on a new terminal building for Sirkeci railway station in the city of Constantinople (now known as Istanbul) in the present-day Republic of Turkey. (At the time, Turkey was part of the Ottoman Empire; Constantinople served as the empire’s capital.) With Constantinople straddling the Bosporus strait between Europe and Asia,... Continue Reading →
February 6, 1872 Civil engineer Robert Maillart was born in Bern, Switzerland. Maillart left a lasting imprint on his profession through his aesthetical approach to bridge construction and his innovative use of structural reinforced concrete for that purpose. Two prominent examples of Maillart’s work are the Salginatobel and Schwandbach Bridges that he designed and built. The Salginatobel... Continue Reading →
February 3, 1991 In Albania, the Directory General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) was established in the country’s capital city of Tirana. DGCA, which is now known as the Albanian Civil Aviation Authority (AAC), was put into place to monitor and manage Albania’s dramatic growth in air traffic at a time when the country was starting... Continue Reading →
January 27, 1900 The automobile manufacturer Società Milanese Automobili Isotta, Fraschini & C (Isotta-Fraschini) was officially established in Milan, Italy. The company’s formal name was based in part on the surnames of its founders, Cesare Isotta and the brothers Oreste, Vincenzo and Antonio Fraschini. For the first few years of its existence, Isotta-Fraschini focused on assembling... Continue Reading →
January 23, 1951 In Denmark, the Jutlandia – an ocean liner that had been recently reequipped as a hospital ship – left Copenhagen under the command of Commodore Kai Hammerich for use as a medical treatment facility in the Korean War. “Despite snow and cold,” reported the New York Times, thousands of people showed up... Continue Reading →
January 3, 1905 Automobile designer Dante Giacosa was born in Rome, Italy. His work covered a wide range of automobiles, from minicars to sports cars. Giacosa was especially instrumental in spearheading the design of small automobiles during his many years at the Fiat company. Giacosa studied engineering at the Polytechnic University of Turin. He joined Fiat... Continue Reading →
December 30, 1824 A now-famous pedestrian bridge was opened in the city of Nuremberg in the present-day Federal Republic of Germany. (At the time of the bridge’s debut, Nuremberg was part of the district of Rezatkreis in the Kingdom of Bavaria.) This bridge, crossing the river Pegnitz, took only four months to build. The classification... Continue Reading →
December 9, 1892 A large amount of money was unexpectedly made available for the funding of a new lighthouse in northwestern France. The disbursement of this money for a lighthouse was one of the provisions in the will of a noblewoman who had died two months earlier at the age of 77. Adélaïde-Louise Davout, Marquise... Continue Reading →
November 27, 2003 The yacht Mirabella V was launched at the VT shipbuilding company’s shipyard at Woolston in the city of Southampton in southeastern England. With a length of more than 245 feet (74.7 meters) and a height of 290 feet (88.5 meters), Mirabella V is the largest single-masted yacht (sloop) ever built. The designer... Continue Reading →
November 25, 1999 The Süd Autobahn (designated as A2) in the Republic of Austria was officially completed. This motorway runs south from the outskirts of the capital city of Vienna to the market town of Arnoldstein along Austria’s border with Italy. (“Süd Autobahn” means “South Motorway” in German.) Construction on this controlled-access highway began in... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 