Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
September 8, 1883 The Northern Pacific Railway, the first of the northern transcontinental railroads, was officially completed in an extravagant ceremony near Gold Creek in the southwestern part of the Montana Territory (now the state of Montana). This railway line, spanning across the northern tier of the western United States, provided what would become a... Continue Reading →
September 7, 1918 USS Falcon (AM-28), the third U.S. Navy vessel bearing that name, was launched at the yard of the shipbuilding firm collectively known at the time as the Gas Engine & Power Company and Charles L. Seabury Company. (That shipbuilding firm had been formed by the merger of the Gas Engine & Power... Continue Reading →
September 3, 2008 A 44-year-old vessel was acquired by the Brazilian Navy for service as an oceanographic research ship in the Antarctic region. This addition to that navy’s Brazilian Antarctic Program was renamed the Almirante Maximiano in honor of Admiral Maximiano Eduardo da Silva Fonseca (1919-1998). A longtime Brazilian naval officer, Maximiano da Fonesca served... Continue Reading →
September 2, 1892 A bicycle relay race between Washington, D.C., and Pittsburgh began in the former of those two cities. This major event was organized and sponsored by the Pittsburgh Leader newspaper. The stated purpose of the race was to have dozens of bicyclists take turns carrying a message from U.S. Army Brigadier General Albert... Continue Reading →
September 1, 1973 The first U.S. federal safety standard relating to school buses officially took effect. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) No. 217 was issued by the National Traffic Highway Safety Administration, a part of the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), to help better protect the lives of passengers on certain large buses (intercity... Continue Reading →
August 31, 2011 The Rędziński Bridge, which spans the section of the Oder river in the city of Wrocław in southwestern Poland, was officially opened. This cable-stayed bridge is a part of the A8 motorway, and that 16.7-mile (26.8-kilometer) route was likewise opened to vehicular traffic on the same day. With a total length of... Continue Reading →
August 30, 1996 The first line of the Ankara Metro, the rapid transit system serving Turkey’s capital city of Ankara, was officially opened. This original segment of the Ankara Metro is called Ankaray, which is a portmanteau of “Ankara” and “ray” (the Turkish word for “rail”). The opening-day celebration for Ankaray included a concert given... Continue Reading →
August 27, 1966 The Astoria-Megler Bridge, which had been jointly built by the Oregon State Highway Department (now the Oregon Department of Transportation) and the Washington State Highway Department (the present-day Washington State Department of Transportation) made its official debut. This steel cantilever through-truss bridge spans the Columbia River between the city of Astoria, Oregon, and... Continue Reading →
August 26, 1901 Gentullio “Tullio” Campagnolo, who achieved widespread fame as both a racing cyclist and bicycle manufacturer, was born in the city of Vicenza in northeastern Italy. By the early 1920s, Campagnolo was regularly competing in such prestigious and difficult cycling races as the Giro di Lombardia (Tour of Lombardy) in northwestern Italy; and La... Continue Reading →
August 25, 1930 Approximately 25,000 people were on hand for the grand opening of the Mid-Hudson Bridge in southeastern New York. This bridge, which measures about 3,000 feet (910 meters) in length, carries traffic over the Hudson River between the city of Poughkeepsie and the hamlet of Highland. This structure was the world’s sixth longest suspension... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 