Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
July 13, 1858 A new lighthouse began operations at Cape Borda on Kangaroo Island in the colony (present-day state) of South Australia. Cape Borda Lightstation was built to help guide ships being pushed along by the strong “Roaring Forties” trade winds in that part of the world and – via the Investigator Strait between Kangaroo... Continue Reading →
July 12, 1809 In England, renowned pedestrian Robert Barclay Allardice (widely known as Captain Barclay) completed a mile (kilometer)-per-hour walk of 1,000 miles (1,609.3 kilometers) in 1,000 consecutive hours in the town of Newmarket. When he finished his ambitious walk at 3:37 on that Wednesday afternoon, he did so – in the words of an 1813... Continue Reading →
July 11, 1905 The Scott Special, a train operated by the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway, set a new speed record for travel between Los Angeles and Chicago. The Scott Special arrived at Chicago’s Dearborn Station at 11:54 a.m. – 44 hours and 56 minutes after the train had departed Los Angeles for a trek... Continue Reading →
July 10, 1901 One of the world’s first passenger-carrying trolleybus systems was launched in the southeastern region of the present-day Federal Republic of Germany. (At the time, this area was part of the German Empire.) The Biela Valley Trolleybus system was built and operated by Dresden native Max Schiemann, who is credited with using a... Continue Reading →
July 9, 1930 A bridge was officially opened in northeastern Montana to a great deal of fanfare. The new structure, spanning the Missouri River between McCone and Roosevelt counties in the Big Sky Country, was named the Lewis and Clark Bridge. (In May 1805, the Corps of Discovery Expedition led by Meriwether Lewis and William... Continue Reading →
July 6, 1881 In central Iowa, a potentially horrific passenger train wreck was averted thanks to a heroic teenage girl. The girl was 17-year-old Katherine Carroll “Kate” Shelley, who lived in that region of the Hawkeye State with her family. Kate had been born in Ireland, and she and her family immigrated to the United... Continue Reading →
July 5, 328 A Roman Empire bridge built across the river Danube made its formal debut. This opening of the bridge took place in the presence of Constantine I (also called Constantine the Great), who reigned as Roman emperor from 306 to 337. The structure, which has become known as Constantine’s Bridge, was constructed in... Continue Reading →
July 3, 1886 The Benz Patent-Motorwagen, which is widely regarded as the first functioning automobile, made its debut when inventor Karl Benz officially unveiled the motorized vehicle in the city of Mannheim in the present-day Federal Republic of Germany. (At the time, Mannheim was part of the German Empire state known as the Grand Duchy... Continue Reading →
July 2, 1935 The Rip Van Winkle Bridge was officially opened in southeastern New York’s section of the Hudson River Valley. The cantilever bridge, carrying New York State Route 23 over the Hudson River, connects the city of Hudson with the village of Catskill. The bridge was named after the long-hibernating protagonist of Washington Irving’s... Continue Reading →
June 29, 1900 A pioneering passenger ship built for the Hamburg-Amerikanische Packetfahrt-Actien-Gesellschaft (HAPAG, or the Hamburg-America Line) was launched at the city of Hamburg in what was then the German Empire (now part of the Federal Republic of Germany). The ship was christened by the Countess von Waldersee (formerly Mary Esther Lee), the U.S.-born wife... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 