Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
March 21, 1850 Trailblazing bicycle manufacturer Albert H. Overman was born in Fulton County, Illinois. Early on in life, he developed a strong interest in the mechanics of transportation. Overman said in an 1897 interview with the New York-based World newspaper, “I have all my life been engaged in experimental work connected with man-propelled machinery,... Continue Reading →
March 15, 1906 A caisson lighthouse in the Gulf of Mexico was lit for the first time. (Each caisson lighthouse has a superstructure resting on a concrete or metal caisson in order to better withstand potentially severe weather conditions.) This addition to American lighthouses off the Gulf Coast of the United States was specifically installed... Continue Reading →
Elizabeth Whitney Williams was one of the longest-serving lighthouse keepers in American history. In 1904, the Detroit Free Press underscored both the challenges and significance of Williams’ lifesaving role on behalf of maritime transportation. This article stated, “For more than three decades she has been in charge of one of Uncle Sam’s lighthouses on the... Continue Reading →
February 21, 1910 On New Zealand’s North Island, a lighthouse on the tip of Cape Brett Peninsula was first lit. The first keeper for the Cape Brett Lighthouse was Robert McIver; Frances Earnest Lee served as this navigational aid’s first assistant keeper. Cape Brett Lighthouse was built to help better guide and protect the numerous... Continue Reading →
February 9, 1809 The South Stack Lighthouse in the Irish Sea first went into service. This navigational aid is located on a stack, a geological landform consisting of steep columns of rock in the sea. South Stack is near the Welsh island of Anglesey, which is off the northwestern mainland coast of Wales. The... Continue Reading →
January 18, 1852 A new version of Barra Rio Grande Lighthouse in southern Brazil first went into service. (At the time, most of the territory comprising the present-day Federative Republic of Brazil was instead part of the Empire of Brazil.) This lighthouse is specifically located on a sandy strip between the Lagoa dos Patos (the... Continue Reading →
December 29, 1933 With New Year’s Eve fast approaching, it was definitely a case of “out with the old, in with the new” on the southwest tip of the Hawaiian island of Oahu due to the replacement of one lighthouse with another there. (At the time, Hawaii was a U.S. territory; it became the 50th... Continue Reading →
December 28, 1894 In the town of Cromer on England’s eastern coast, an 18-year-old local resident named Henry Blogg first saw action at sea as a member of the crew of RNLB (Royal National Lifeboat) Benjamin Bond Cabbell II. Blogg had actually joined that crew nearly a year earlier, but it was that holiday-season mission... Continue Reading →
December 15, 1874 In southern California’s Los Angeles area, Point Fermin Light on the west side of the entrance to San Pedro Bay had its inaugural lighting. This structure had been designed by architect and civil engineer Paul J. Pelz, who was serving the U.S. Lighthouse Board at the time as its chief draftsman. Point Fermin... Continue Reading →
December 1, 1901 A newly built lighthouse made its formal debut at Cape Byron in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) to help protect ships traveling through that area of the Pacific Ocean. Cape Byron Lighthouse, which remains in service today and can be found approximately two miles (3.2 kilometers) northeast of the town... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 