Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
July 13, 1879 Civil engineer and prestressed concrete pioneer Eugène Freyssinet was born in the commune of Objat in central France. By the time that World War I broke out in 1914, Freyssinet had designed several major bridges in France. A leading example of Freyssinet’s work in those pre-war years was the Pont le Veurdre near... Continue Reading →
July 12, 1957 Dwight D. Eisenhower made transportation history when he became the first U.S. president to fly in a helicopter. This aviation “first” occurred after he went on board a Bell H-13J helicopter on the South Lawn of the White House. This helicopter had been purchased by the U.S. Air Force, and it was piloted... Continue Reading →
July 9, 1910 Just a couple of days before his 21st birthday, Walter Brookins broke the world’s altitude record for fixed-wing aircraft when he attained a height of 6,175 feet (1,882 meters) while piloting a Wright biplane in the skies above Atlantic City, New Jersey. This early-evening flight also marked the first time that a... Continue Reading →
July 8, 1856 A railway station was opened in the hamlet of Broomielaw in northeastern England as part of the Darlington and Barnard Castle Railway’s line serving that region. Unlike the other stations along the line that were also opened at the time, Broomielaw railway station was originally not intended for public use. The facility... Continue Reading →
July 7, 1914 An electric railway (interurban) line in southern Maine began regular operations. This line would serve as a key transit link between the Pine Tree State’s two largest cities: Portland in Cumberland County; and Lewiston in Androscoggin County. Construction on the line began in 1910. The first trial run for the new route... Continue Reading →
July 6, 1926 The first test flight of the racing seaplane Macchi M.39 took place in Italy. This seaplane had been designed by engineer Mario Castoldi, and it was built by the aircraft company Aeronautica Macchi (based in the city and comune of Varese in northwestern Italy). The first M.39 to take to the skies... Continue Reading →
July 2, 1906 Juliet Fish Nichols, the keeper at the Point Knox Lighthouse on Angel Island in San Francisco Bay, made maritime history when a fog bell malfunctioned at the worst possible time. Her job as lighthouse keeper was crucial in helping ships deal with the treacherous currents, rocks, and fog throughout the bay. The need to... Continue Reading →
July 1, 1928 The Trailmobile Company of Cincinnati and the Michigan-based Lapeer Trailer Corporation – the two largest trailer manufacturers in the United States at that time – merged to become the Trailer Company of America. Levi Wade Childress, a St. Louis investor who held large stakes in numerous shipping enterprises, was selected as the first... Continue Reading →
June 30, 2009 A dedication ceremony was held during the afternoon for a newly completed expressway in South Korea. This expressway covers 14.2 miles (22.9 kilometers) between the city of Yongin in Gyeonggi Province and the Gangnam District of South Korea’s capital city of Seoul. Plans to build the Yongin-Seoul Expressway had been developed to... Continue Reading →
June 29, 1963 Cobham Bridge in the city of Hamilton on New Zealand’s North Island was officially opened. This girder bridge, measuring 470 feet (143.3 meters) in length, carries Cobham Drive over the Waikato River. (Cobham Drive is part of State Highway 1, the longest route in New Zealand’s road network.) Those on hand for... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 