Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
April 27, 1952 The airborne ambulance service known today as Rega -- and also called Swiss Air-Rescue -- was established during the ninth annual meeting of the Swiss Rescue Association (SRA). The SRA delegates in attendance at that meeting, which took place in the municipality of Twann in west-central Switzerland, formally approved creating the Swiss... Continue Reading →
April 11, 1954 In southwestern France, a newly constructed airport was opened in the region known as the French Basque Country. This airport is specifically located just 3.1 miles (five kilometers) southeast of the city of Biarritz, a popular seaside tourist destination. Guy Petit (1905-1988), who served as mayor of Biarritz from 1945 to 1977,... Continue Reading →
Aviation pioneer Helen Hodge was one of the first American women to earn a pilot’s license. She was born in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1892, and received her secondary school education at Brownell Hall (now Brownell-Talbot School) in that city. By 1909, Hodge and her family had moved to Oakland, California. Over time, both Hodge and... Continue Reading →
March 23, 2012 The newly renovated version of Jalgaon Airport in India was formally inaugurated. This domestic airport is located southeast of the city of Jalgaon in the state of Maharashtra in India’s western peninsular region. (Maharashtra is the second-most populous state of India and the country’s third-largest state by area.) Jalgaon Airport was opened... Continue Reading →
Annie Belle Andrews, who was born in 1959, has served as a high-level and even trailblazing leader in both military and civilian capacities. She highlighted her approach to leadership in 2016 when she addressed the graduating class of the Women’s College of Brenau University of Georgia. “Not only as women do you have a voice... Continue Reading →
March 16, 1938 A dedication ceremony was held for an airport built in the Sydenham ward of Northern Ireland’s capital city of Belfast. (This city also has the distinction of being the largest one in Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom.) The inauguration of the facility originally known as Sydenham Airport was... Continue Reading →
March 14, 2018 In the Republic of the Philippines, an inaugural ceremony was held for a newly renovated and expanded passenger terminal building at Tuguegarao Airport. This airport serves the city of Tuguegarao, the capital of the province of Cagayan at the northern tip of Luzon (the country’s largest and most populous island). Tuguegarao Airport,... Continue Reading →
March 8, 1946 A major milestone in aviation history took place when the Bell 47 became the world’s first helicopter certified for commercial use. This first-of-a-kind certificate was issued for the Bell 47 by the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA), forerunner to the present-day Federal Aviation Administration. The Bell 47 was a single-rotor, single-engine light helicopter manufactured... Continue Reading →
In 1993, President Bill Clinton appointed Rodney E. Slater as administrator of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). This appointment made Slater the first African American to serve in that role. He remained FHWA administrator until 1997, when Clinton appointed him to serve as U.S. secretary of transportation. Slater was only the second African American to... Continue Reading →
February 14, 1920 In the Republic of Colombia, the first flight at an airport serving the city of Cartagena took place. The pilot for this flight was Jourdanet Jacques René Bazin, who flew a plane named Cartagena in the skies above that Caribbean port city. There were two passengers aboard the plane for this pioneering... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 