Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
August 25, 1893 The yacht Feiseen established a new speed record for steam-powered, propeller-driven vessels during a race against the fast-paced passenger steamboat Monmouth in New York Harbor. Originally measuring 78 feet and nine inches (24 meters) in length, Feiseen was launched that past spring at City Island in the town of Pelham, New York.... Continue Reading →
August 7, 1973 On the south shore of Long Island, a newly built railroad station in the village of Amityville first went into service. Amityville is located mostly in the town of Babylon in Suffolk County; a small portion of the village lies within the town of Oyster Bay in neighboring Nassau County. Amityville station... Continue Reading →
July 24, 1920 A steamship constructed by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation was launched at the company’s shipyard in the industrial area of Sparrows Point in the Baltimore region. Initially called Bertice, this ship was renamed Buckeye State – the nickname of the state of Ohio – by the time of her launch. SS Buckeye State... Continue Reading →
July 22, 1926 In what was widely believed to be a new record for America’s National Pastime and a notable “first” in aviation, sports legend Babe Ruth (1894-1948) caught a baseball from a plane flying well above Mitchel Field airport in Garden City, Long Island. “Babe Ruth Catches Ball from Skies,” announced a headline in that... Continue Reading →
June 11, 1764 Operations began for a lighthouse built about 500 feet (150 meters) from the tip of Sandy Hook, a barrier spit located within what was then the British royal colony of New Jersey and at the southern entrance of Lower New York Bay. This lighthouse had been constructed to help guide mariners traveling... Continue Reading →
April 16, 2012 Only four days after what would be his last public appearance, Danish shipping magnate Arnold Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller died in Copenhagen at the age of 98. He had been a longtime leader at A.P Møller – Mærsk Group (known simply as Maersk), the shipping and logistics company that his father Arnold Peter... Continue Reading →
April 15, 1909 The Unione Sportiva Italiana (USI), which is now one of the oldest cycling clubs in existence in the United States, was formally incorporated in the state of New York. The English translation for the club’s name is “Italian Sporting Union,” and it is generally acknowledged that the founders of this group in New... Continue Reading →
March 18, 1897 A pilot boat named New York was launched at the shipyards of the transportation manufacturing firm Harlan & Hollingsworth Company in Wilmington, Delaware. This type of vessel operates in the vicinity of a port and is used to transport maritime pilots to ships in the area. While on board a ship, the... Continue Reading →
March 17, 1915 Jacob Ackerman, who earned legendary status for his longtime roles as a captain of vessels and the keeper of a lighthouse on the Hudson River, died in the village of Tarrytown in New York’s Westchester County. He was 88 years old. The New York Times attributed his death to paralysis. Ackerman was... Continue Reading →
While she ultimately became a world-renowned etiquette maven, Emily Post (1872-1960) was also a female automotive pioneer who firmly established herself as a formidable travel journalist. The zenith of this part of the Baltimore-born Post’s writing career was arguably her participation in an automobile journey from New York City to San Francisco in 1915. This... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 