Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
August 12, 1882 Vincent Hugo Bendix, an inventor who became a pioneer in both the automotive and aviation industries, was born in Moline, Illinois. His first major effort in the transportation world involved establishing the short-lived Bendix Company of Chicago in 1907 and creating an automobile called the Bendix Buggy. In 1910, he invented the Bendix... Continue Reading →
August 10, 1909 Pioneering bicycle manufacturer and good roads advocate Albert Augustus Pope, who also became involved in producing early automobiles, died at his summer home (known as Lindermere-by-the-Sea) in the town of Cohasset, Massachusetts, at the age of 66. Pope was born in Boston in 1843, and served in the Union Army during the Civil... Continue Reading →
August 4, 1919 A convoy of flag-decorated motor vehicles, which consisted of both trucks and automobiles, left Chicago’s Grant Park for a 3,000-mile (4,826-kilometer)-journey through the rural regions of six Midwestern states. “The object of the enterprise, which is the first of its kind, is to demonstrate to the farmers of Illinois, Iowa, North and... Continue Reading →
July 29, 1916 A new automotive enterprise took shape when the Nash Motors Company was incorporated in Baltimore, Maryland. The incorporation occurred after Charles W. Nash, who had recently stepped down as president of General Motors (GM) Corporation, bought the automobile manufacturer Thomas B. Jeffery Company to revamp it into his own enterprise for making... Continue Reading →
July 20, 1894 Errett Lobban Cord, industrialist and trend-setting automobile manufacturer, was born in the city of Warrensburg, Missouri. Cord, knowing a profitable thing when he saw it, immersed himself in the ever-burgeoning world of automobile development and did much to help that mode of transportation come of age. The Auburn, Cord, and Duesenberg automobiles... Continue Reading →
May 27, 1972 The U.S. International Transportation Exposition -- best known as Transpo ‘72 -- was formally opened at Dulles International Airport in northern Virginia (26 miles [41.8 kilometers] west of Washington, D.C.). U.S. Transportation Secretary John A. Volpe presided over the opening of that extensive nine-day trade show. “Flying trains, square dancing helicopters and the... Continue Reading →
April 6, 1983 Automotive designer Wellington Everett Miller died in Los Angeles at the age of 79. He developed a strong interest in the design of automobiles while attending an annual car show in Los Angeles in 1920, and subsequently took courses in mathematics and mechanical drawing to prepare for a career in that field. In... Continue Reading →
April 1, 1967 The recently created U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) formally began operations as the 12th federal cabinet department with a considerable amount of fun and fanfare on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Thousands gathered at that park in the nation’s capital for a celebration featuring a broad-based transportation theme and including music from... Continue Reading →
Joan Newton Cuneo, who played a trailblazing role for female race car drivers, was born in Holyoke, Massachusetts, in 1876. She was the last of four daughters born to Leila Vulte and John Carter Newton. Joan’s strong interest in transportation took root early on in her life. As a child – and under her indulgent... Continue Reading →
March 12, 1831 Clement Studebaker, a wagon and carriage manufacturer who helped establish and nurture a formidable family legacy when it came to surface transportation, was born in Pinetown, Pennsylvania. He learned the blacksmith trade as a teenager in his father’s shop and later worked as a teacher. In 1852, he and his older brother Henry formally... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 