Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
Robbie Hood, a member of the Cherokee Nation, has made notable flight-oriented contributions as an atmospheric scientist. She is a direct descendant of John Ross (1790-1866), whose tenure as principal chief of the Cherokee Nation from 1828 to 1866 was the longest of anyone serving in that role. Ross achieved lasting prominence for his pivotal... Continue Reading →
Richard Francis "Dick" Gordon Jr., who made notable contributions as both a U.S. Navy aviator and NASA astronaut, died at his home in the city of San Marcos, California. He was 88. Gordon had been born in Seattle on October 5, 1929. After graduating from the University of Washington in 1951 with a B.S. in... Continue Reading →
October 29, 1960 In Peru, Lima International Airport in the seaside city and constitutional province of Callao made its public debut. This airport, which is about 6.8 miles (11 kilometers) northwest of the historic district of the country's capital city of Lima, was officially opened a little over four months after its first international flight... Continue Reading →
October 28, 1967 An airport in the town and locality of Chinchilla in the Australian state of Queensland was officially opened. The inaugural duties for the occasion were performed by Reginald Swartz (1911-2006), who was Australia’s minister for civil aviation from 1966 to 1969. This ceremony took place two days after the first aircraft had... Continue Reading →
Luis Ramón de Florez, who earned renown as a U.S. Navy aviator and officer, was born in New York City on March 4, 1889. His father Raphael V. de Florez was Spanish and his mother Marie Stephanie (Bernard) de Florez was French. Luis Ramón de Florez attended preparatory schools in both Paris, France, and the... Continue Reading →
Trailblazing airline pilot Linda Pauwels was born Linda Pfeiffer in San Pedro, a city in Argentina’s Province of Buenos Aires, in 1963. She was the daughter of Mabel Gaspard Pfeiffer, a native Argentinian who worked as a schoolteacher; and Jerzy “Jorge” Pfeiffer, a Polish-born naturalized Argentine citizen. Pauwels was only six years old when her... Continue Reading →
September 16, 1946 In the aftermath of World War II, the airline Aerolinee Italiane Internazionali was formally instituted in Rome. “British European Airways and the Italian Institute for Industrial Reconstruction signed an agreement today establishing a new British-Italian airline to be called the ‘Italian International Airlines,’” reported the Associated Press. “At the start the line... Continue Reading →
August 12, 1911 The Chicago International Aviation Meet was formally launched. This eight-day air show, which was characterized by the Indiana-based Logansport Journal as “the greatest aggregation of human birds ever assembled,” took place in the section of Grant Park that is along Lake Michigan. The event was held under the aegis of the International Aviation... Continue Reading →
August 8, 1929 An airport built about two miles (1.6 kilometers) southeast of the downtown area of Salem, Oregon, was officially dedicated. As the 1920s was fast approaching its end, the development of facilities to support airborne transportation had become a top priority for numerous municipalities throughout the United States -- including the capital of the... Continue Reading →
July 25, 2013 Operations began for Kualanamu International Airport in Indonesia’s province of North Sumatra. This airport is located in Deli Serdang Regency, which is about 14 miles (23 kilometers) east of North Sumatra’s capital city of Medan. A little over eight months after the “soft opening” of Kualanamu International Airport, a formal inauguration of... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 