Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
August 25, 1864 Milton Reeves, who became a major trailblazer for the automobile industry, was born on a farm in east-central Indiana. When he was only a teenager working at a saw mill in Columbus, Indiana, Reeves demonstrated the formidable creativity and mechanical expertise that would define his entire life. After seeing how other workers... Continue Reading →
August 24, 2005 In the Greater Tokyo Area of Honshu (the largest and most populous of Japan’s islands), a railway station was officially opened in the city of Kashiwa. (The Greater Tokyo Area is the world’s most populous metropolitan region.) This station is specifically located in the section of Kashiwa that had once been the... Continue Reading →
August 23, 1917 A private motorboat named Natoma was commissioned into the U.S. Navy about four-and-a-half months after the United States entered World War I on the side of the Allied Powers. Natoma had been designed and built in 1913 as a vessel for Charles H. Foster, president of the Cadillac Motor Car Company of... Continue Reading →
August 22, 2015 A bridge for pedestrians and bicyclists was opened in the Christianshavn neighborhood of Copenhagen. This structure, which was formally named the Circle Bridge, spans the southern mouth of the Christianshavn Canal in Denmark’s capital city. The 130-foot (40-meter)-long Circle Bridge encompasses a total of five round platforms. Each of these platforms has... Continue Reading →
August 19, 1929 In skies above the Detroit area, a one-of-a-kind airship manufactured for the U.S. Navy made its first flight. The ZMC-2 was created by the Detroit-based Aircraft Development Corporation and is the only successfully operated all-metal airship ever built. (ZMC stood for “Zeppelin Metal Clad.”) While nicknamed the “Tin Bubble,” the teardrop-shaped ZMC-2 --... Continue Reading →
August 18, 1904 A newly completed lighthouse in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia was first lit. This lighthouse, which is located in the community of Gilbert’s Cove on the western coast of Nova Scotia, was built primarily to help guide schooners sailing up and down St. Mary’s Bay in that region of Canada. Many... Continue Reading →
August 17, 1807 The world’s first commercially successful steamboat service was launched when the North River Steamboat left New York City for Albany, New York, via the Hudson River (widely known at that time as the North River). The North River Steamboat -- often erroneously called the Clermont instead -- had been built at New York... Continue Reading →
August 16, 1928 San Diego Municipal Airport-Lindbergh Field was dedicated. The construction of this California-based airport, made possible by a bond issue passed by the city government of San Diego, had been inspired in large part by Charles Lindbergh’s historic solo transatlantic flight the previous year. The site of the new facility was near the airstrip... Continue Reading →
August 15, 1893 Construction was completed on a passenger train station at Ninth and Spruce Streets in Terre Haute, Indiana. Terre Haute Union Station was designed by Cincinnati-based architect Samuel Hannaford. In the course of its 67 years of existence, this three-and-a-half-story building served the Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad; the Terre Haute & Indianapolis... Continue Reading →
August 12, 1908 In Michigan, a new era in motorboats began when marine designer John L. Hacker purchased the vessel manufacturer Detroit Launch & Power Company and renamed it the Hacker Boat Company. The 31-year-old Hacker, bringing into play his expert craftsmanship and a wealth of ideas for design improvements, would revolutionize the use of... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 