Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
September 8, 1895 Adam Opel, the founder of a company that has enjoyed considerable success manufacturing two modes of transportation, died at age of 58 in the city of Rüsselsheim am Main in what was then the German Empire (now part of the Federal Republic of Germany). In 1862, Opel went into business for himself... Continue Reading →
September 2, 1937 A milestone in American motorcycle history took place at the Individual Speedway World Championship in London. In front of a crowd of approximiately 85,000 spectators in attendance at the original version of Wembley Stadium, 30-year-old California resident Jack Milne won that competition -- widely considered to be one of the premier motorcycle... Continue Reading →
August 21, 1982 A tied-arch bridge crossing a section of the Mississippi River between Iowa and Wisconsin was officially opened. This bridge connects the Iowa city of Dubuque with the Wisconsin town of Jamestown. The Cedar Rapids Gazette noted that “sunny skies greeted the structure’s debut.” More than 6,000 people turned out for the grand... Continue Reading →
August 12, 1971 Walter Owen “W.O.” Bentley, who achieved renown for the automobiles that he designed and built, died in a nursing home in northwestern England’s town and borough of Woking. He was 83. Bentley was born on September 16, 1888, in the Hampstead area of London. He attended Clifton College in Bristol from 1902... Continue Reading →
July 1, 1872 Transportation pioneer Louis Blériot was born in the city of Cambrai in northern France. He studied engineering at École Centrale (now part of CentraleSupélec) in Paris. Automobiles became the first means of transportation in which Blériot became actively involved. He developed the world’s first practical headlamps for these vehicles by using a... Continue Reading →
The attached photo shows two women and a man at a Juneteenth celebration in Corpus Christi, Texas, in 1913. For the occasion, they are not only wearing their finest clothes but also sitting in an elegantly decorated horse-drawn carriage. This picture of a flower-festooned vehicle was among several taken by George McCuistion (1878-1928) at that... Continue Reading →
June 11, 1895 One of the first major multi-day motorcar races began in France’s capital city. There were 30 entrants altogether in this round-trip race, which involved driving motor vehicles between Paris in the northern central part of France and the city of Bordeaux in the southwestern area of the country. The total distance covered... Continue Reading →
May 19, 1950 A drive-in theater in Dearborn, Michigan, officially opened for business on a rainy Friday night. This theater, known as Ford-Wyoming Drive-In, was initially able to accommodate up to 750 automobiles. Despite the rain on its inaugural night, the theater’s lot was filled to capacity. The double feature that night was The Man... Continue Reading →
April 15, 1924 The Rand McNally Auto Chum, a highways map guide for car travel throughout the United States, was published. This guide was the first edition of what ultimately became the best-selling Rand McNally Road Atlas. The Auto Chum came out at a time when cars were increasingly embraced and used nationwide, and highways to accommodate... Continue Reading →
March 19, 2018 In northern Italy’s autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, a railway station built to serve Trieste Airport near the commune of Ronchi dei Legionari was officially opened. (Ronchi dei Legionari is 19 miles [30 kilometers] northwest of Trieste, a major seaport and the capital city of Friuli-Venezia Giulia.) Those attending the inauguration of... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 