Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
May 29, 1884 Europe’s first cable-operated tramway was introduced to the public in north London. This .7-mile (1.1-kilometer)-long tramway ran on Highgate Hill in an area encompassing parts of both the Highgate and Archway sections of England’s capital city. While most of the line was double-tracked, about 1,000 feet (304.8 meters) of it was single-tracked. The... Continue Reading →
May 27, 2014 In the Bahamas, a newly built terminal for an airport in the town of Marsh Harbour first went into service. Marsh Harbour, which is located on Great Abaco Island (the largest of the country’s Abaco Islands), has achieved renown over the years as a major tourist attraction. “The 46,000 square foot [4,300... Continue Reading →
For more than two decades now, systems engineer Josephine Santiago-Bond has made significant contributions to NASA in the development of its space exploration technologies. She was born to Filipino parents who were pursuing their doctorate studies in the United States at the time. When she was just a few months old, Josephine -- along with... Continue Reading →
May 6, 1895 The third elevated rapid transit line in Chicago, and the first of those lines to be electrically operated, made its debut. The first train of the Metropolitan West Side Elevated Railroad -- also called the Metropolitan “L” -- left the Robey Street station at six o’clock that morning for the downtown terminal at... Continue Reading →
April 11, 2019 In the Philippines’ Southwestern Tagalog Region, a celebration was held to commemorate the newly renovated passenger terminal building (PTB) at the only airport serving the island province of Marinduque. This airport is located in the province’s Municipality of Gasan. The work on extensively rehabilitating Marinduque Airport’s PTB began exactly three years earlier.... Continue Reading →
Laurel van der Wal was a mechanical and aeronautical engineer who made key contributions to the research of both human space flight and more earthbound transportation challenges. She was born to Lillian and Richard van der Wal in San Francisco on September 22, 1924. Laurel van der Wal was only 15 when she graduated from... Continue Reading →
March 14, 2017 In the Republic of the Philippines, a bus station was inaugurated in Quezon City in Metro Manila (an area that is officially known as the National Capital Region) on the island of Luzon. This station is specifically located in Araneta City, an 86-acre (35-hectare) commercial mixed-use, transit-oriented development within Quezon City. The... Continue Reading →
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 20, 1943 With World War II very much underway across the globe, the ship SS Cape Johnson was launched at 11:00 a.m. at Consolidated Steel Corporation’s shipyard in the Los Angeles neighborhood. This ship, which was named after a cape off the coast of Washington state, was the 26th combination cargo-passenger vessel to be... Continue Reading →
February 14, 2012 A newly completed terminal for Devi Ahilya Bai Holkar (DABH) Airport in India’s state of Madhya Pradesh was formally opened. The public officials taking part in this inaugural ceremony included Shivraj Singh Chouhan (born in 1959), chief minister of Madhya Pradesh; and Ajit Singh (1939-2021), India’s minister of civil aviation. This terminal... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 