Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
Sarah Clark Kidder (c. 1839-1933) was the first woman in the world to run a railroad. Her husband John Flint Kidder, whom she married in 1870, became president of the California-based Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad (NCNGRR) in 1884. After he died in 1901, Sarah – who now found herself in control of three-fourths of... Continue Reading →
The first flight between Portugal and its then-territory of Madeira, a North Atlantic archipelago located 280 nautical miles off the coast of Africa, took place when a Felixstowe F .3 seaplane traveled from Lisbon to the city of Funchal on the southern shore of Madeira’s main island. The Portuguese Naval Aeronautical Service crew on board... Continue Reading →
One of the more memorable motorcyclists during the 1910s -- an era that has been characterized as the Golden Age of American Motorcycling -- was a woman named Della L. Crewe. She was born in Wisconsin in 1884 and eventually made her way to Texas. By 1910, she was living in Waco and working there... Continue Reading →
In Hong Kong, a significant portion of Tsing Sha Highway was first opened to traffic. The Friday morning debut took place five years and four months after construction on this segment of a major expressway in one of the world’s most densely populated regions had begun. The segment, which extends from Sha Tin (an area... Continue Reading →
Kathleen “Kate” Moore devoted most of her long life serving at the Connecticut-based Black Rock Harbor Light during an era in which lighthouse duties in the United States were generally handled by men only. Her father Stephen Moore became the keeper at the lighthouse, located on Fayerweather Island (just south of Bridgeport), in 1817. Kate,... Continue Reading →
A new airport was officially opened in Seychelles, an Indian Ocean archipelago located 932 miles east of mainland Africa. Seychelles International Airport is near the Seychellian capital of Victoria on Mahé, which is the largest and most heavily populated of the archipelago’s 115 islands. A British colony when the airport made its debut, Seychelles achieved... Continue Reading →
Mary Anderson (1866-1953) was an entrepreneur who worked at various times during her long life as a rancher, real estate developer, and viticulturist (someone who grows grapes). In addition, the Alabama native made a major contribution to transportation by inventing the first practical windshield wiper. Anderson was inspired to create her version of this device... Continue Reading →
The first section of a bus rapid transit system in the Nigerian state of Lagos (in the southwestern part of the nation) began operations. The Lagos Bus Rapid Transit System (Lagos BRT), which is run by the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, was inaugurated to help address the ever-increasing traffic congestion challenges facing this region... Continue Reading →
Anita King (1884-1963) was a silent-film star who achieved an additional measure of fame for establishing a transportation record. In 1915, King – at the time a Famous Players Film Company actress whose first film had been the Cecil B. De Mille western “The Virginian” – became the first woman to make a transcontinental solo... Continue Reading →
In Australia’s state of Queensland, the M7 Clem Jones Tunnel (CLEM7) in the city of Brisbane first became fully operational at 12:02 a.m. after individual segments of the new structure had been progressively opened to vehicular traffic starting the previous day. The tunnel, which carries the motorway M7 under the Brisbane River and encompasses a... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 