Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
October 24, 1858 In what is now central Oregon, entrepreneurs E.F. Coe and R.R. Thompson launched their newly built steamboat Colonel Wright at the mouth of the Deschutes River. The sternwheel-propelled vessel proved to be a reliable means of transporting freight and passengers in the Pacific Northwest. She also played a pioneering role in the... Continue Reading →
October 23, 1964 A 45-year-old Illinois engineer named Sidney Allen Heenan applied for a U.S. patent for a durable road safety device that remains in extensive use nationwide to further reduce motor vehicle accidents. The device, as outlined in his patent application, was a raised pavement reflector marker. These markers were designed for placement on... Continue Reading →
October 22, 1946 Ground was broken at Chester Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio, for the construction of a bus terminal to be exclusively used by the Greyhound Corporation. The terminal was built as a part of Greyhound’s strategy to set up its own nationwide network of distinctive bus stations in larger cities. The Cleveland terminal – the... Continue Reading →
October 19, 1974 A ceremony was held to celebrate the completion of the last segment of Interstate 80 in Nebraska. This ceremony specifically took place five miles (8.05 kilometers) west of the city of Sidney in the Cornhusker State. Approximately 5,000 people showed up for the event. Nebraska Governor (and future U.S. senator) J. James... Continue Reading →
October 18, 1909 The aristocrat known as Charles, Count de Lambert became the first person to fly over the French capital city of Paris in a plane. He quickly gained worldwide attention for this achievement. “Great Record in Air,” proclaimed a headline in the next day’s edition of the New York-based Buffalo Express. De Lambert,... Continue Reading →
October 17, 1943 Chicago’s first rapid transit subway route began regular operations for passenger service just after midnight. This occurred the day after Mayor Edward J. Kelly of Chicago officially opened that new 4.9-mile (7.9-kilometer) subterranean transportation system in a ribbon-cutting ceremony beneath the intersection of State and Madison Streets, an above-ground location described by... Continue Reading →
October 16, 1965 After more than a decade with the reserve fleet at Suisun Bay in northern California, the United States Navy hospital ship USS Repose (AH-16) was recommissioned for service in the Vietnam War. The vessel dated back to the World War II era, having been built in 1943 by the Sun Shipbuilding &... Continue Reading →
October 2, 1922 Over a year after the first segment of the Boulevard of the Allies made its debut, the entire route in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was opened to traffic. The road, which links downtown Pittsburgh with the city’s Oakland neighborhood, was named in honor of the Allied Powers that had fought against Germany and the other... Continue Reading →
In 1986, astronaut Franklin R. Chang Díaz became the first Hispanic-American to travel into outer space when he flew on board the Space Shuttle Columbia. Chang Díaz, the son of a father of Chinese descent and a mother who is Costa Rican, was born in San José, Costa Rica, in 1950. He moved to the... Continue Reading →
October 1, 1979 Hong Kong’s Mass Transit Railway (MTR) made its debut with the opening of the first five miles (8.1 kilometers) of the Kwun Tong Line. “As champagne corks popped and a Chinese dragon danced for luck,” reported the Associated Press later that week, “Hong Kong christened its new subway system on Sunday and sent... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 