Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
Aviation pioneer Harriet Quimby became the first woman to fly across the English Channel. The Michigan-born pilot departed Dover, England, for Calais, France, in a monoplane that she had never flown before and with a compass she had just recently learned to use. Quimby, despite those challenges as well as thick fog that limited visibility... Continue Reading →
British cyclist Gordon W. “Tiny” Thomas died in the city Peterborough in eastern England at the age of 91. He had been born in the town of Shipley in northern England’s county of West Yorkshire in 1921. Thomas acquired the nickname “Tiny” when, as a 12-year-old joining a local cycling group known as the Yorkshire... Continue Reading →
A pedestrian and cycle bridge in the British city and unitary authority area of Derby was first opened to the public. This opening of the Cathedral Green Footbridge, which spans the River Derwent, took place 13 days before the official dedication ceremony for the new structure. The footbridge was built in a section of Derby... Continue Reading →
Image: Portraits of three women engineers: Margaret Rowbotham, Beatrice Shilling, and Margaret Partridge Beatrice “Tilly” Shilling, who left her mark as an aeronautical engineer as well as a motorbike and car racer, was born in Waterlooville, England. At age 14, she bought her first motorbike. By that time, she had also developed a strong interest... Continue Reading →
A pioneering railway officially began operations in the city of Liverpool in northwestern England at seven o’clock in the morning. In reporting on the first runs of the railway’s trains that day, the Liverpool Echo noted that “the carriages appear to be fairly well filled with passengers.” The Liverpool Overhead Railway, which originally spanned five... Continue Reading →
In northeastern England, a new bridge was officially dedicated. The Surtees Bridge, carrying the A66(T) road across the River Tees near the borough of Stockton-on-Tees, replaced a structure that had been built there in 1981 with two vehicular lanes in each direction. The original Surtees Bridge, while initially estimated to have a design life of... Continue Reading →
The SS Savannah became the first steamship to cross the Atlantic Ocean. The ship was built in 1818 by the New York shipbuilding firm of Fickett & Crockett. During its construction, Captain Moses Rogers asked the Savannah-based shipping company, Scarborough & Isaacs, to convert it to a steamship with the goal of providing the world's... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 