Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
June 4, 1923 In Washington, D.C., dedication ceremonies were held for the permanent mile-marker monument known as the Zero Milestone (replacing a temporary version that had been put in place there a few years earlier). This monolith, which still stands in an area just south of the White House, was originally intended to serve as the... Continue Reading →
June 3, 1928 In Ohio, the city of Toledo became more fully integrated into the world of aviation with the establishment of a new airport. Toledo Municipal Airport was officially opened in a ceremony attended by approximately 30,000 to 50,000 individuals. The highlight of the ceremony took place when 14-year-old Nan Beth Jackson, the daughter... Continue Reading →
May 31, 1928 Australian aviator Charles Kingsford Smith departed Oakland, California, in a Fokker F.VIIb/3m trimotor monoplane for the first trans-Pacific flight. The others on board the plane, which was named the Southern Cross, were Charles Ulm, organizing manager of the flight and co-pilot; Harry Lyon, navigator; and James Warner, radio operator. Over the next... Continue Reading →
May 22, 1920 The final day of the National Ship by Truck-Good Roads Week in the United States took place. The week had been coordinated by the Firestone Tire & Rubber Company as part of its ongoing and ambitious efforts to promote the short-haul shipping benefits of trucks and – in a priority shared by... Continue Reading →
May 20, 1899 The first known official speeding infraction in the United States involving a “horseless carriage” took place in New York City. Jacob German was driving an electric taxi for the Electric Vehicle Company when city policeman John Schuessler – riding a bicycle at the time -- caught up with him. Schuessler had observed German speeding... Continue Reading →
May 10, 1869 The First Transcontinental Railroad – originally called the Pacific Railroad -- was officially completed with the tracks of the eastbound Central Pacific Railroad (CPRR) joining those of the westward Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) during ceremonies at Promontory Summit in what was then the Territory of Utah. “The long-looked-for moment has arrived,” reported... Continue Reading →
May 8, 1944 Balloonist and aviation pioneer Albert Leo Stevens died at the age of 67 at the home of his brother Frank in Bardonia, New York. Born in Cleveland, Albert developed a strong interest in human flight at a young age. Stevens was only 12 when he started taking to the skies in a... Continue Reading →
May 3, 1923 The first non-stop transcontinental flight across the United States was completed when U.S. Army Air Service Lieutenants Oakley G. Kelly and John A. Macready landed their single-engine, high-wing Army Fokker T-2 plane at Rockwell Field near San Diego, California. This landing took place 26 hours, 50 minutes, and 48 seconds after they... Continue Reading →
April 30, 2009 The Mary Avenue Bicycle Footbridge was opened in the city of Cupertino in California’s Santa Clara County, which encompasses much of the region popularly known as Silicon Valley. The 503-foot (153.3-meter)-long bridge, which crosses over Interstate 280 and connects the north and south sections of the Stevens Creek Trail, has the distinction... Continue Reading →
April 29, 1851 The first successful demonstration of a full-sized electric locomotive took place in the Washington, D.C., area. The railroad car, equipped with an electric storage battery, had been built by Dr. Charles Grafton Page. Page was born in 1812 in Salem, Massachusetts. His father was a sea captain. Early on in life, he... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 