Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
August 18, 1904 A newly completed lighthouse in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia was first lit. This lighthouse, which is located in the community of Gilbert’s Cove on the western coast of Nova Scotia, was built primarily to help guide schooners sailing up and down St. Mary’s Bay in that region of Canada. Many... Continue Reading →
August 9, 1978 On Singapore’s southeastern coast, a lighthouse in the planning area and matured residential town of Bedok formally began operations. The inauguration of Bedok Lighthouse took place on National Day of Singapore. This holiday is held each year on August 9 to commemorate Singapore’s independence from Malaysia in 1965. Bedok Lighthouse also... Continue Reading →
August 3, 1900 The Firestone Tire & Rubber Company was incorporated in Akron, Ohio. Harvey S, Firestone (1868-1938), with only a dozen employees to help him, formally launched a state-of-the-art business for making more durable and efficient tires for horse-drawn wagons and buggies. Within just a few years, the company would shift its focus to... Continue Reading →
July 26, 1884 A pivotal milestone occurred in the construction of a lighthouse in Maryland’s Eastern Shore region. This milestone specifically involved setting up the cottage-like superstructure for Great Shoals Light at the mouth of the Wicomico River, a 24.4-mile (39.3-kilometer)-long tributary of the Chesapeake Bay. The components for that superstructure had been manufactured at... Continue Reading →
July 15, 1880 The American Shoal Light, which is located on a submerged reef in the Florida Keys, first went into service. The inaugural lighting of this navigational aid was done that night by William Bates, the newly constructed lighthouse's first keeper. He served in that role until 1889. The American Shoal Light can be found about 15 miles... Continue Reading →
July 7, 1860 The Swallowtail Lighthouse first went into service on Grand Manan Island, a section of the Bay of Fundy that is part of the present-day Canadian province of New Brunswick. At the time of that lighthouse’s debut, New Brunswick was a British colony; in 1867, it became one of the four original provinces... Continue Reading →
June 21, 1884 In Portugal, an engineer named Ricardo Peyroteu formally proposed the construction of a lighthouse to help safely guide vessels in the country’s southernmost region. Peyroteu submitted this proposal to the General Directorate of Posts, Telegraphs and Lighthouses of the Kingdom of Portugal. (At the time, Portugal was a constitutional monarchy.) Construction on... Continue Reading →
June 8, 2016 Fireboat 20, a ship equipped with state-of-the-art firefighting apparatus, was officially commissioned into service at Long Beach, California, as one of the vessels to be used by that city’s fire department. During the Wednesday afternoon commissioning ceremony at the Port of Long Beach Joint Command and Control Center, the vessel was renamed... Continue Reading →
June 1, 1906 Work was completed on a lighthouse in the southeastern region of the then-Territory of Alaska. This octagonal structure is specifically located on Eldred Rock, an island that is in the Pacific Ocean and adjacent to the inlet known as Lynn Canal. The Eldred Rock Light was the last of 10 lighthouses built... Continue Reading →
May 25, 1884 The San Juan de Salvamento Lighthouse made its debut on Isla de los Estados, a remote island within Argentina’s section of the archipelago Tierra del Fuego. Isla de los Estados is located 18 miles (29 kilometers) off the easternmost point of that archipelago’s main island of Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego.... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 