Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
February 4, 1883 Stephen Latchford, a U.S. diplomat who became one of his country’s foremost authorities on aviation law and a key influence when it came to that mode of transportation, was born in Annapolis Junction, Maryland. Perhaps Latchford’s birth in a community that owed its name to being a rail junction presaged a transportation-themed career... Continue Reading →
February 3, 2014 A newly completed bus station in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of the state of Kerala in southwestern India, was opened for public use. This 7.4-acre (3-hectare) transit complex is specifically located in the neighborhood of Thampanoor in the central part of Thiruvananthapuram. Thampanoor bus station (also known as Central bus station) was... Continue Reading →
February 2, 1870 As a bicycle craze swept across Europe, the first-ever official race in Italy involving that type of transportation took place. The increased popularity of bicycles owed a lot to two key developments in France during the previous decade -- the launch of the first pedal-equipped bicycle; and the Michaux Company’s subsequent mass production... Continue Reading →
Bobby Charles Wilks, who was born in St. Louis in 1931, achieved several key “firsts” as an African American aviator. In 1956, he graduated with a commission of ensign from the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Reserve Officers’ Candidate School in New London, Connecticut. Not long after receiving this commission, Wilks was assigned as a flight student... Continue Reading →
January 31, 1890 Not far from Long Island’s north shore, a lighthouse built on a shoal at the entrance to Cold Spring Harbor was first lit. Construction on Cold Spring Harbor Light had begun the previous year. The first keeper for this lighthouse was William S. Keene, who had been selected from a pool... Continue Reading →
January 28, 2000 In Greece, the Syntagma station made its formal debut as part of the rapid transit system serving the capital city of Athens and other municipalities within the country’s region of Attica. This station was one of several stations opened at the same time as the inauguration of Lines 2 and 3 of... Continue Reading →
January 27, 1861 Ralph Modjeski, a civil engineer who achieved acclaim for his wide range of bridge design and construction projects, was born in the town of Bochnia in the Austrian Empire (in what is now Poland). Modjeski immigrated to the United States in 1878. He became an American citizen five years later. Modjeski’s first major... Continue Reading →
January 26, 2010 A test run was conducted for a monorail system still very much under development at the time in the city of Mumbai, the capital of western India’s state of Maharashtra. (A monorail is a railway in which the trains travel on a single track or beam.) This initial test run for Mumbai... Continue Reading →
January 25, 2009 The pioneering Northern Gateway Toll Road in the Auckland Region of New Zealand’s North Island was opened to traffic. The route, which encompasses 4.4 miles (seven kilometers) between the town of Orewa and the settlement of Puhoi, is a segment of the Auckland Northern Motorway. This motorway, now measuring 24 miles (38... Continue Reading →
January 24, 1809 The New Castle and Frenchtown Turnpike Company was chartered in Delaware to provide a needed trade and travel route in that region of the United States. The original commissioners selected to oversee this company were George Read, James Riddle, Kensey Johns, James McCalmont, and Jesse Higgins. This company was likewise chartered in... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 