Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
In 1900, Anne Rainsford French became the first licensed woman driver in Washington, D.C. The epitaph on her tombstone goes even further by stating that she was the “first woman licensed to drive an automobile in America.” This claim has been widely disputed, however; many have claimed, for example that Mrs. John Howell Phillips achieved that... Continue Reading →
July 23, 1903 The Ford Motor Company – just a little over a month after being incorporated -- delivered its first-ever automobile to be purchased to Dr. Ernst Pfenning, a dentist in Chicago. Pfenning paid $850 for a Ford Model A with a backseat. The Model A, which became the forerunner of the many types... Continue Reading →
July 21, 1932 The Hudson Motor Car Company introduced a unique automobile amid great fanfare at the company’s plant in Detroit, Michigan. The automobile was the Terraplane. While lacking the airborne qualities of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, this new automobile was given its unusual name to attract public interest and capitalize on the strong popularity of aviation... Continue Reading →
May 20, 1959 The Ford Motor Company introduced the concept model of the Levacar Mach I, an air-propelled automobile, in the Ford Rotunda in Dearborn, Michigan. The guiding force behind the design for the single-passenger, wheels-free Levacar was Andrew A. Kucher, vice president of engineering for the Ford Motor Company and the head of its... Continue Reading →
December 18, 1898 French aristocrat Count Gaston de Chasseloup-Laubat set the first official land speed record for an automobile. The 32-year-old Chasseloup-Laubat established this record of 39.3 miles (63.3 kilometers) while driving a Jeantaud Duc electric car at a competition that was sponsored by the magazine Le France Automobile and held in the commune of... Continue Reading →
October 26, 1959 The Valiant, an automobile manufactured by the Plymouth division of the Chrysler Corporation, made its public debut at the 44th International Motor Show in London, England. The new vehicle – measuring 15 feet and four inches (4.7 meters) in length, four-and-a-half feet (1.4 meters) in height, and nearly six feet (1.8 meters) in... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 