Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
June 20, 1897 Harold Frederick Pitcairn, who made major contributions to various types of aircraft, was born in Moreland Township in southeastern Pennsylvania. In 1916, residents in the central part of this township broke away to form what is now the home-rule borough of Bryn Athyn; the following year, the remainder of the township was... Continue Reading →
June 10, 1909 Aviation pioneers Wilbur and Orville Wright were formally honored by President William Howard Taft for their considerable airborne accomplishments. The ceremony, which was held in the East Room of the White House, took place about five-and-a-half years after the brothers made transportation history with the world’s first controlled, powered, and sustained heavier-than-air... Continue Reading →
June 4, 2019 The first part of a significant extension to Terminal 3 at Copenhagen Airport, which serves Demark’s capital city, was officially opened. This extension is called Pier E and its construction marked the largest expansion of the longtime airport in about a quarter-century. Pier E was designed to accommodate the ever-growing number of... Continue Reading →
May 27, 2014 In the Bahamas, a newly built terminal for an airport in the town of Marsh Harbour first went into service. Marsh Harbour, which is located on Great Abaco Island (the largest of the country’s Abaco Islands), has achieved renown over the years as a major tourist attraction. “The 46,000 square foot [4,300... Continue Reading →
Fujio Matsuda was born in Honolulu on October 18, 1924. His parents Yoshio and Shimo had both emigrated to Hawaii from Japan. They taught Fujio, who would later be affectionately called “Fuj” -- a nickname ultimately modified to “Fudge” -- to embrace a wide range of traditional Japanese values that included gambare (to persevere), kansha... Continue Reading →
May 14, 1928 A total of 22 planes took to the skies on a Monday morning in Oklahoma City for the launch of a five-day air tour. This tour, which was sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce of Oklahoma, reflected the ever-growing popularity of aviation in the United States. The idea behind what the Associated... Continue Reading →
Henry Hope Wong was born to William Hope Wong (originally known as Wong Fook On), a Chinese immigrant, and Cheruo “Mabel” Hope Wong (also identified as Chun Yow) in 1900 in Portland, Oregon. Henry became one of the first people of Chinese descent in that region of the United States to pursue taking to the... Continue Reading →
April 29, 1909 Aviation pioneer Pearl Laska Chamberlain was born to John W. and Lanie C. Bragg on Chestnut Mountain in Summers County, West Virginia. One of eight children, Chamberlain started out life as Lelia Pearl Bragg. At the age of 17, Chamberlain became a school teacher; she remained in this profession to one extent... Continue Reading →
April 14, 1960 Aviation pioneer Dr. William Whitney Christmas died at Bellevue Hospital in New York City at the age of 94. He was born on September 1, 1865, in the town of Warrenton, North Carolina. After earning his M.D. from George Washington University in 1905, Christmas practiced medicine for just a few years before devoting... Continue Reading →
April 11, 2019 In the Philippines’ Southwestern Tagalog Region, a celebration was held to commemorate the newly renovated passenger terminal building (PTB) at the only airport serving the island province of Marinduque. This airport is located in the province’s Municipality of Gasan. The work on extensively rehabilitating Marinduque Airport’s PTB began exactly three years earlier.... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 