Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
May 30, 1914 The Cunard Line ship RMS Aquitania, in her maiden voyage, left Liverpool, England, for New York. In doing so, Aquitania joined the RMS Mauretania and RMS Lusitania as Cunard Line’s “grand trio” of express ocean liners providing regular transatlantic service. Aquitania would be nicknamed “Ship Beautiful” due to her reputation as one... Continue Reading →
April 20, 1882 In what was then the Kingdom of Italy, the Italian Royal Navy’s screw corvette Vettor Pisani departed from the city of Naples for an ambitious voyage across the globe. (A screw corvette is a small warship powered by both a steam engine and screw propeller.) The key objectives for this global circumnavigation... Continue Reading →
February 16, 1979 In the Great Lakes region, a lake freighter (also known as a laker) made her first voyage. This was the first voyage of that type of vessel in mid-winter, and it took place on the mostly ice-covered waters of both Lake Michigan and Lake Superior. This lake freighter was constructed by Bay... 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 →
January 25, 2011 A sail training ship built for the Indian Navy was launched at the port city of Vasco da Gama on India’s western coast. This ship was commissioned into the Indian Navy just a little over a year later by K.N. Sushil, a vice admiral of the Indian Navy and the flag officer... Continue Reading →
January 6, 1922 Construction began on a suspension bridge that would cross the Delaware River and serve as a link between Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Camden, New Jersey. As part of the festivities marking the start of work on this structure (originally known as the Delaware River Bridge), a salute of 17 guns was fired from... Continue Reading →
August 4, 1999 In the Netherlands, a vessel built to serve as a training ship for the Brazilian Navy was christened and launched. Cisne Branco, which means “White Swan” in Brazil’s official language of Portuguese, is a full-rigged tall ship (a large sailing vessel) that was constructed by the Dutch company Damen Shipyards Group. This... Continue Reading →
In 2020, Josephine Tauoa made U.S. Navy history as the first female American Samoan to be promoted to command master chief petty officer. (An unincorporated territory of the United States, American Samoa is southeast of the independent state of Samoa in the South Pacific Ocean.) As command master chief petty officer (CMC), Tauoa serves as... Continue Reading →
April 29, 1915 In San Francisco, the schooner SS Wapama began a long and varied career when she was officially entered into service as a ship of the Charles McCormick Lumber Company. The “ownership oath” for this acquisition of the Wapama was completed on that date by Sidney Hauptman, the company’s secretary. Two days later,... Continue Reading →
April 1, 1938 On the southeastern coast of Scotland, the steam ferry SS South Steyne was launched in Leith by the shipbuilding company Henry Robb, Ltd. This vessel was built for Australia’s Port Jackson and Manly Steamship Company and its ferries operations in Sydney. (The South Steyne owes her name to a section of Manly Beach,... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 