Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
December 20, 1879 A notable “first” for Japanese lighthouses took place with the installation of a fog horn – a device using highly audible signs to warn vessels of navigational hazards such as rocky coastlines in foggy weather – at Shiriyazaki Lighthouse in the Tōhoku region. This lighthouse is located on Cape Shiriyazaki, the northernmost... Continue Reading →
December 14, 1890 In the Philippines, Cape Santiago Lighthouse on the island of Luzon first went into service. This lighthouse is specifically located on Cape Santiago in Calatagan, a municipality that is about 81 miles (130 kilometers) southwest of Manila, in the Province of Batangas. Cape Santiago Lighthouse helps guide vessels traveling through the strait... Continue Reading →
November 7, 1857 On Maryland’s side of the Potomac River, a cast iron light pole was installed as the first navigational aid in an area that is about 20 miles (32.2 kilometers) south of Washington, D.C. This pole was specifically put into place on the grounds of Fort Washington, which ultimately served for many years... Continue Reading →
October 18, 1871 On Kyūshū -- the third largest of Japan’s five main islands -- a lighthouse built on Cape Sata in the present-day town of Minamiōsumi was first lit. This navigational aid is known as Satamisaki Lighthouse; “Satamisaki,” which is also spelled out as “Sata Misaki,” means “Cape Sata” in English. Work on this... Continue Reading →
For nearly four decades now, Michael P. Huerta has served in a wide range of high-ranking transportation roles. In a 2011 speech at the National Hispanic Coalition of Federal Aviation Employees Annual Training Conference, Huerta addressed not only those professional achievements but also the prejudicial treatment he sometimes encountered early on in life as a... Continue Reading →
September 20, 1830 Point Lookout Light in southern Maryland was formally inaugurated. This structure, marking the mouth of the Potomac River, is located at the southernmost tip of the state’s western shore of the Chesapeake Bay. (The origins of the name “Point Lookout” can be traced to the War of 1812, when that area was... Continue Reading →
September 11, 2001 The terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, resulted in the deaths of nearly 3,000 individuals in the vicinity of the World Trade Center in the southernmost part of New York City’s borough of Manhattan; the Pentagon in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area; and – where a hijacked... Continue Reading →
September 1, 1964 The Alte Weser Lighthouse in the northwestern region of what was then West Germany (now part of the Federal Republic of Germany) first went into service. This 125-foot (38-meter)-tall red tower with white horizontal bands is offshore from the estuary mouth of the river Weser, which is within the German Bight (a... Continue Reading →
August 22, 1889 A screw-pile superstructure that had been built at the Baltimore-based Lazaretto Depot, a supplies facility for lighthouses and lightvessels, began an overnight journey to the site in Virginia where that superstructure would be installed as the major part of a new lighthouse. The specific destination was at the mouth of the Great... Continue Reading →
July 31, 1829 In southeastern Brazil, a lighthouse on the island of Rasa (“Ilha Rasa” in Portuguese) was inaugurated. This island serves as the entrance to the Port of Rio de Janeiro, which is located in a cove on the western shore of Guanabara Bay. (At the time of Ilha Rasa Lighthouse’s debut, most of... Continue Reading →
