Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
March 5, 1890 Alan Brebner, a Scottish civil engineer who left a considerable legacy when it came to the development of lighthouses, died in Edinburgh at the age of 63. “He had a ready and retentive memory, and was expert in methods of calculation,” noted his obituary in the London-based monthly magazine The Engineer.... Continue Reading →
February 21, 1894 A pilot boat constructed by shipbuilder Moses Adams (1837-1894) in Essex, Massachusetts, was launched. Moses, who died less than five months after this launch, built the vessel for a company of Sandy Hook pilots. These pilots are transported via such boats to ships bound for or already within the region encompassing of... Continue Reading →
February 13, 1851 A railway station in southeastern England’s village of Hamstreet first went into service. This station was built as part of the South Eastern Railway (SER), which operated in this area of the country from 1836 to 1922. At the time of its opening, the station was spelled out as “Ham Street” rather... Continue Reading →
January 31, 1901 In the northern part of the Massachusetts island of Nantucket, operations began for the current version of a lighthouse at Brant Point on the south side of the island’s harbor. (Nantucket is approximately 30 miles [48 kilometers] south of the Bay State’s Cape Code peninsula.) The New York Times provided details about... Continue Reading →
December 26, 1859 At eleven o’clock on a Monday morning, the pilot boat John D. Jones, No. 15, was launched into a section of the East River within the ward of Williamsburg in the city of Brooklyn (now one of New York City’s five boroughs). J.D. Jones had been built by J.B & J.D. Van... Continue Reading →
November 14, 1874 Operations began for a lighthouse in a section of the Hudson River within New York’s southeastern region. This navigational aid, which was constructed to help guide vessels safely around a treacherous part of the river known as the Middle Ground Flats, is specifically located between the cities of Hudson and Athens. As... Continue Reading →
October 30, 1906 Daniel Albone, an inventor who made key contributions to various types of transportation, died in the market town and civil parish of Biggleswade in southern England. He was 46. Albone was born in Biggleswade on September 12, 1860. He and his family lived in an area located between the Great North Road... Continue Reading →
October 24, 1856 In the northern part of Lake Superior in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula region, Mark Petty arrived at Rock Harbor at Isle Royale to serve as the first keeper of a newly completed lighthouse there. He was accompanied by his brother Michael, who would serve as Rock Harbor Lighthouse’s first assistant keeper. This lighthouse... Continue Reading →
October 18, 2013 In India’s western state of Maharashtra, a newly completed air traffic control (ATC) tower at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport was formally introduced to the public. This airport serves Maharashtra’s capital city of Mumbai. At the time of its debut, this ATC tower -- with a height of 274.9 feet (83.8... Continue Reading →
August 30, 1849 In the Acushnet River in southeastern Massachusetts, a lighthouse at the entrance to the harbor of the city of New Bedford first went into service. This navigational aid was installed at Palmer Island, which is on the west side of the route into New Bedford Harbor. Palmer Island Light was built by... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 