Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
The comparatively brief but historically significant U.S. Navy career of Lieutenant Commander Edward Swain Hope, who had been the highest-ranking African-American naval officer during World War II, came to an end when he was officially released from active duty. Hope was born in 1901 in Atlanta. While his naval service did not actually take place... Continue Reading →
Sir William Arrol, one of the most renowned civil engineers of the Victoria Era, died at his home in the Scottish town of Ayr at the age of 74. “A GREAT BRIDGE BUILDER,” proclaimed the headline in the next day’s edition of the London Standard for the article announcing his death. The article stated, “Sheer... Continue Reading →
Carl von Ghega, who established himself as one of the leading transportation engineers of the Austrian Empire, was born in Venice, Italy. (At the time of von Ghega’s birth, Venice was under Austrian rule.) His father was an Austrian Navy officer, but von Ghega pursued engineering as his life’s work instead. After studying mathematics in... Continue Reading →
French civil engineer Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, who achieved international renown for creating the landmark tower bearing his name but also carved out a substantive legacy in transportation, died in Paris at the age of 91. He was listening to Beethoven’s 5th Symphony at the time. “Although Eiffel was known to America principally for the tower... Continue Reading →
Robert Julian Scott, whose interests and accomplishments involved several modes of transportation during his many years in New Zealand, died in the city of Christchurch at the age of 69. Scott had been born in Plymouth, England, in 1861. After completing his education, he worked briefly for the London, Brighton, and South Coast Railway under... Continue Reading →
American inventor Robert Fulton took his newly-built paddle steamboat out on the Seine River in France for a test run. Unfortunately, the ship sank. Nevertheless, Fulton was not discouraged. He was accustomed to perfecting his designs and inventions in high-profile situations. Born in Pennsylvania in 1765, Fulton grew up in the environs of Philadelphia, and,... Continue Reading →
Chinese-American structural engineer Tung-Yen Lin left a formidable legacy when it came to transportation projects across the globe. “He was an extraordinarily creative engineer,” said Karl S. Pister, a former dean of engineering at the University of California (UC), Berkeley, who knew Lin for more than a half-century. Lin was born in 1912 in the... Continue Reading →
Sudhir K. Gupta is an Indian-American business executive who made key contributions to transportation during his long career. Gupta graduated with a B.S. degree in marine engineering from the Marine Engineering College in India in 1972 and with a B.S.E. degree in naval architecture and marine engineering from the University of Michigan in 1981. He... Continue Reading →
Francis Goold Morony Stoney, an engineer whose accomplishments and influence extended to transportation infrastructure across the globe, was born in County Tipperary in Ireland. Early on in his career, he worked on building railways in Ireland. Ultimately, however, Stoney’s engineering efforts assumed international proportions. Starting in 1865, for example, he spent time in Peru on... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 