Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
October 25, 1904 The first successful flight of a dirigible (a type of airship) in the United States occurred when aviator and aeronautical engineer A. Roy Knabenshue flew the “California Arrow.” He took to the skies in that cigar-shaped dirigible from the World’s Fair (officially known as the Louisiana Purchase Exposition) in St. Louis, Missouri.... Continue Reading →
October 24, 1858 In what is now central Oregon, entrepreneurs E.F. Coe and R.R. Thompson launched their newly built steamboat Colonel Wright at the mouth of the Deschutes River. The sternwheel-propelled vessel proved to be a reliable means of transporting freight and passengers in the Pacific Northwest. She also played a pioneering role in the... Continue Reading →
October 23, 1964 A 45-year-old Illinois engineer named Sidney Allen Heenan applied for a U.S. patent for a durable road safety device that remains in extensive use nationwide to further reduce motor vehicle accidents. The device, as outlined in his patent application, was a raised pavement reflector marker. These markers were designed for placement on... Continue Reading →
October 22, 1946 Ground was broken at Chester Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio, for the construction of a bus terminal to be exclusively used by the Greyhound Corporation. The terminal was built as a part of Greyhound’s strategy to set up its own nationwide network of distinctive bus stations in larger cities. The Cleveland terminal – the... Continue Reading →
October 19, 1974 A ceremony was held to celebrate the completion of the last segment of Interstate 80 in Nebraska. This ceremony specifically took place five miles (8.05 kilometers) west of the city of Sidney in the Cornhusker State. Approximately 5,000 people showed up for the event. Nebraska Governor (and future U.S. senator) J. James... Continue Reading →
October 18, 1909 The aristocrat known as Charles, Count de Lambert became the first person to fly over the French capital city of Paris in a plane. He quickly gained worldwide attention for this achievement. “Great Record in Air,” proclaimed a headline in the next day’s edition of the New York-based Buffalo Express. De Lambert,... Continue Reading →
October 17, 1943 Chicago’s first rapid transit subway route began regular operations for passenger service just after midnight. This occurred the day after Mayor Edward J. Kelly of Chicago officially opened that new 4.9-mile (7.9-kilometer) subterranean transportation system in a ribbon-cutting ceremony beneath the intersection of State and Madison Streets, an above-ground location described by... Continue Reading →
October 16, 1965 After more than a decade with the reserve fleet at Suisun Bay in northern California, the United States Navy hospital ship USS Repose (AH-16) was recommissioned for service in the Vietnam War. The vessel dated back to the World War II era, having been built in 1943 by the Sun Shipbuilding &... Continue Reading →
October 15, 1958 The inaugural ceremony for the AASHO Road Test took place in the city of Ottawa, Illinois, which is located about 80 miles (128.8 kilometers) southwest of Chicago. The purpose of this road test, which was sponsored by the American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO) and supervised by the Highway Research Board... Continue Reading →
Joseph Tezanos was born in the city of Santander in Spain in 1920. At an early age, he moved with his parents to the United States and grew up in western New York. After graduating from high school, Tezanos found work as a crane operator at the Bethlehem Steel Corporation’s plant in Lackawanna, New York.... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 