Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
April 5, 1941 Nigel Gresley, a railway engineer who made major contributions to the development of high-powered steam locomotives, died at his home in Hertford, England, at the age of 64. He was born in 1876 in Scotland’s capital city of Edinburgh and raised in the English village and civil parish of Netherseal. After attending... Continue Reading →
April 4, 2016 In Indonesia, Merah-Putih Bridge was dedicated in the province of Maluku less than five years after construction on it had begun. Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo formally opened the red-and-white bridge, which spans Ambon Bay in Maluku’s capital city of Ambon. Other public officials attending this ceremony included Basuki Hadimuljono, Indonesia’s minister... Continue Reading →
April 3, 1933 New heights in transportation were attained when the first two flights over Mount Everest took place. Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF) Flight Lieutenant Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, Marquess of Douglas and Clydesdale (and later the 14th Duke of Hamilton), was the chief pilot for this ambitious aeronautical expedition above Earth's highest mountain. He flew... Continue Reading →
April 2, 1910 Thomas Buckland Jeffery, a pioneering manufacturer of bicycles and automobiles, died at the age of 65 while vacationing in Pompeii, Italy. Jeffery was born in Stoke, England, in 1845. He immigrated to the United States when he was 18 and settled in Chicago. Jeffery went into the bicycle business several years later.... Continue Reading →
April 1, 1909 Automobile coachbuilder Fleetwood Metal Body was formally launched in Fleetwood, Pennsylvania, with Harry C. Urich serving as the new company’s president and general manager. Fleetwood Metal Body soon established itself as a leading high-quality producer of aluminum and wood automotive chassis. By 1920, the company was regularly exhibiting its creations at prestigious automobile... Continue Reading →
One day in August 1888, Bertha Benz (1849-1944) made transportation history when she undertook the first long-distance automobile drive on record. Bertha, who lived in the city of Mannheim in the German Empire state known as the Grand Duchy of Baden (part of the present-day Federal Republic of Germany), used one of the automobiles built... Continue Reading →
March 28, 1918 A milestone in the short but eventful U.S. Navy service of the vessel USS Aphrodite took place when she was assigned to convoy escort duty with a higher-than-average risk along the French coast during World War I. Aphrodite had made her debut a couple of decades earlier in decidedly more luxurious circumstances.... Continue Reading →
Aviation pioneer Florence Lowe “Pancho” Barnes (1901-1975) developed a strong enthusiasm for human flight early on in her life. When she was only eight years old, her grandfather Thaddeus S.C. Lowe – an aviation legend who achieved fame as the Chief Aeronaut of the Union Army Balloon Corps during the Civil War – took her... Continue Reading →
March 26, 1863 Truck industrialist George Albert Brockway was born in the village of Homer, New York. He was the son of William Northrup Brockway, who manufactured horse-drawn carriages and wagons. After William was stricken with a debilitating illness in 1888 that brought about his death the following year, George stepped in as the company’s business manager.... Continue Reading →
In 1861, Harriet Colfax was appointed by the U.S. Congress to serve as keeper of the Michigan City Lighthouse in Indiana. At the time, that structure -- located on the shore of Lake Michigan -- had been serving as a guide for vessels in the region for about three years. (The lighthouse replaced one was... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 