Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
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 →
Harold Tantaquidgeon was born on June 18. 1904, in the Mohegan Indian Reservation in southeastern Connecticut’s village of Uncasville. He was the fourth of the seven children of John and Harriet Tantaquidgeon. Harold was a direct descendant of Uncas, a 17th century sachem (chief) of the Mohegans and the person for whom Uncasville was named.... Continue Reading →
October 21, 1856 The steamship USS Arctic, the first of five U.S. Navy vessels named after the polar region in the northernmost section of Earth, was decommissioned in New York City. This original version of Arctic had been built at the Philadelphia Navy Yard and commissioned only the year before. On June 4, 1855, Arctic... 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 →
August 28, 1945 Just a few days before World War II ended with the formal surrender of Japan to the Allies, the U.S. Navy tanker USS Chukawan (AO-100) was launched at the Bethlehem Steel Company’s shipyard in Sparrows Point (an industrial area in the vicinity of Baltimore). As part of those festivities, this vessel --... Continue Reading →
July 12, 1860 At about three o’clock on a Thursday afternoon, a pilot boat named Fannie was launched at the junction of Bushwick Creek and the East River in the Greenpoint neighborhood of the city of Brooklyn (now one of New York City’s five boroughs). This type of vessel operates in the vicinity of a... Continue Reading →
June 20, 1860 In New York City, a 78-foot (23.8-meter)-long pilot boat was launched from the foot of 12th Street and into the East River. This type of vessel operates in the vicinity of a port and is used to transport maritime pilots to ships in the area. While on board a ship, the maritime... Continue Reading →
In 1977, Alma M. Grocki became the first woman from Hawaii to enter the U.S. Naval Academy (USNA). She was also part of this service academy’s second class of women. Grocki, who had been born in Honolulu as Alma Lau, recalled nearly four decades later what led her to pursue a naval career. “I decided... Continue Reading →
April 25, 1885 Marcus Aurelius Hanna, the head keeper at Cape Elizabeth Light (also known as Two Lights) at the mouth of Casco Bay on Maine’s southern coast, received the prestigious Gold Lifesaving Medal. Daniel Manning, who was U.S. secretary of the treasury from 1885 to 1887, awarded this medal to Hanna for his heroic... Continue Reading →
Maria E. Beasley (c. 1836-1913), a pioneering female inventor who was born in North Carolina, is best known for creating machines and other industrial processes for the more efficient production of barrels. She also obtained patents for various other types of inventions, however, and some of those patents involved key improvements to transportation safety. ... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 