Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
February 11, 1974 In the state of Pará in northern Brazil, a port in the city of Santarém was inaugurated. The Port of Santarém is located on the right bank of the Tapajós River and only about two miles (three kilometers) from where this river converges with the Amazon River. (The Tapajós River is formed... Continue Reading →
Downes F. Curtis, a lifelong resident of the town of Oxford on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, achieved considerable renown for the numerous high-quality sails that he created for various types of vessels over the years. “He was certainly a premier sailmaker on the Eastern Shore, I guess one of the few black sailmakers,” said Douglas Hanks... Continue Reading →
February 5, 1916 A hospital ship was launched at the Jackson and Sharp shipyards of the American Car and Foundry Company in Wilmington, Delaware. This vessel was built for use by St. John’s Guild, a charity in New York City that was founded in 1866 and focused on addressing the health needs of medically underserved... Continue Reading →
January 29, 1914 Fred L. Baker (1872-1927) was a long way from his hometown of Los Angeles, but he had had an important reason for being in New York City on a Thursday in January. As president of the Automobile Club of Southern California -- an affiliate of the federation of motor clubs of the... Continue Reading →
January 26, 1830 On Scotland’s northeastern coast, a lighthouse on the Tarbat Ness headland first went into service. (Tarbat is derived from “tairbeart,” a Gaelic word for “isthmus”; “ness” is an Old Norse term for “headland.”) This structure was designed by the renowned civil engineer Robert Stevenson for the Northern Lighthouse Board (the general lighthouse... Continue Reading →
December 23, 1944 A little over three years after the United States entered World War II on the side of the Allies, the U.S. Navy rescue and salvage ship USS Bolster (ARS-38) was launched at a shipyard of the Basalt Rock Company. This company, which was located just south of the San Francisco Bay Area’s... Continue Reading →
December 11, 1976 On a Saturday morning, a ferry terminal in the city of Larkspur (located north of San Francisco) was opened with considerable fanfare. Larkspur Landing, which is also called Larkspur Ferry Terminal, provides commuter ferry services to downtown San Francisco via the North Bay. This terminal is operated by the Golden Gate Bridge,... Continue Reading →
December 2, 1843 The Alexandria Canal was officially opened to trade and navigation on the Potomac River. (Alexandria was part of the District of Columbia at the time but would be returned to Virginia about two years later.) This canal, which ultimately ran southwards for seven miles (11.3 kilometers) through Alexandria and Virginia’s present-day Arlington... Continue Reading →
November 25, 1823 The Royal Suspension Chain Pier in Brighton on England’s southeastern coast was opened. This pier was the first major one to be built at that seaside resort. Widely known as the Chain Pier, it was designed by civil engineer (and Royal Navy veteran) Samuel Brown (1776-1852). Brown was a trailblazer when it... Continue Reading →
In 1943, James Joseph “Jim” Leftwich became the youngest known enlistee in the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG). Leftwich, a member of the Chickasaw Nation (a federally recognized tribe), was only 14 at the time. In a 1968 interview with Baltimore Sun reporter Alan Z. Forman, Leftwich addressed how -- despite being younger than the legal... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 