Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
March 23, 2012 The newly renovated version of Jalgaon Airport in India was formally inaugurated. This domestic airport is located southeast of the city of Jalgaon in the state of Maharashtra in India’s western peninsular region. (Maharashtra is the second-most populous state of India and the country’s third-largest state by area.) Jalgaon Airport was opened... Continue Reading →
As World War II continued to rage in the European Theater, the first and largest contingent of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion completed an eventful transatlantic voyage when the ship transporting them arrived in Glasgow, Scotland, on February 12, 1945. The 6888th -- nicknamed the “Six Triple Eight” -- was one of the small number... Continue Reading →
On June 6, 1980, U.S. Navy Lieutenant Commander Brenda E. Robinson earned her Wings of Gold at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi in Texas. This made her the first black woman to become a U.S. naval aviator. The following year, Robinson made history again when she became the first black woman certified for C-1A carrier... Continue Reading →
January 27, 1989 Aviation pioneer Thomas Sopwith died at his mansion near the city of Winchester in southern England. He was 101. “The Genius of Flight is Dead,” announced a headline in the London-based Evening Standard. Sopwith was born on January 18, 1888, in the Royal Borough of Kensington (now part of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea) in... Continue Reading →
December 5, 1919 The airline popularly known today as Avianca was established as Sociedad Colombo-Alemana de Transporte Aéro (the Colombian-German Air Transport Society), or SCADTA, in the city of Barranquilla, Colombia. The founders of SCADTA were -- on behalf of business interests in Colombia -- Ernesto Cortissoz (who served as its first president), Rafael Palacio, Cristóbal... Continue Reading →
October 26, 1972 Uffa Fox, a renowned boat designer and sailing expert, died in London at the age of 74. He had been born on January 15, 1898, on England’s Isle of Wight. Fox is widely credited with popularizing modern-day dinghy sailing and making several major contributions to that small-boat activity. One of these contributions was Fox’s... Continue Reading →
October 25, 1985 A newly built international airport in the Republic of Ireland began operations with three charter flights of Aer Lingus (the country’s flag carrier) traveling to Rome. Ireland West Airport, which is officially known as Ireland West Airport Knock, is located in County Mayo in the western part of Ireland. This airport is... Continue Reading →
Scientist and NASA astronaut Fernando “Frank” Caldeiro was born in Argentina’s capital city of Buenos Aires on June 12, 1958. As a young immigrant to the United States, however, he regarded both New York City and the Florida community of Merritt Island as his actual hometowns. Caldeiro graduated from William Cullen Bryant High School in... Continue Reading →
September 28, 2019 In the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina, a new terminal for a longtime airport near the municipality of Florianópolis was officially opened. (Florianópolis is the capital of Santa Catarina.) This airport, which traces its origins to the 1920s, was named after Hercilio Pedro da Luz (1860-1924). Luz’s public service on behalf of... Continue Reading →
September 1, 1919 In the southernmost part of Spain located within the Iberian Peninsula, the first scheduled commercial flights began for an airport in the country’s Costa del Sol region. This airport, which is five miles (eight kilometers) southwest of the municipality of Málaga, had been established about six months earlier. The first regular flights... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 