Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
In December 2010, Shanti Sethi achieved a notable milestone when she became the first woman of Indian descent to command a major. U.S. Navy combat ship. This vessel was USS Decatur (DDG-73), and Sethi served as her commanding officer until May 2012. Sethi started out life in the city of Reno, Nevada. Her father... Continue Reading →
May 2, 1810 A groundbreaking ceremony was held in southeast Washington, D.C., for a new canal. Those attending this event included James Madison (1751-1836), who served as the fourth U.S. president from 1809 to 1817. The building of the Washington City Canal reflected the widespread enthusiasm during that era for waterways that would help facilitate... Continue Reading →
For two decades, Sally Snowman served as the keeper of Boston Light on Little Brewster Island at the entrance to Boston Harbor. When she retired from the position on December 30, 2023, Snowman – 72 years old at the time – had the distinction of being the last official lighthouse keeper in the United States.... Continue Reading →
March 4, 1928 On the southwest coast of Washington State, voters in the southern third of Pacific County approved 324 to 87 a measure to form the Port of Ilwaco. The approval of this measure made the port, which is located on Baker Bay near the mouth of the Columbia River, the first of four port... Continue Reading →
February 24, 1862 A lighthouse built on the coast of southeastern Scotland first went into service. This navigational aid is located on the cliffs at a rocky promontory that has long been known as St. Abbs Head. St. Abbs Head Lighthouse was designed and constructed by the brothers David Stevenson (1815-1886) and Thomas Stevenson (1818-1887).... Continue Reading →
February 21, 1894 A pilot boat constructed by shipbuilder Moses Adams (1837-1894) in Essex, Massachusetts, was launched. Moses, who died less than five months after this launch, built the vessel for a company of Sandy Hook pilots. These pilots are transported via such boats to ships bound for or already within the region encompassing of... Continue Reading →
Henry Brown was born into slavery in 1815 on a plantation in Virginia’s Louisa County. At the age of 15, he was sent to the state’s capital city of Richmond to work in a tobacco factory there. He resided in Richmond with his wife Nancy and their three children, all of whom were likewise enslaved.... Continue Reading →
February 4, 1825 The Ohio state legislature voted to approve construction of the Ohio & Erie Canal, a waterway that would ultimately span 308 miles (496 kilometers) and connect Lake Erie at what was originally the village of Cleveland with the Ohio River at Portsmouth in the south-central region of the Buckeye State. The legislature actually... Continue Reading →
January 31, 1901 In the northern part of the Massachusetts island of Nantucket, operations began for the current version of a lighthouse at Brant Point on the south side of the island’s harbor. (Nantucket is approximately 30 miles [48 kilometers] south of the Bay State’s Cape Code peninsula.) The New York Times provided details about... Continue Reading →
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 →
Transportation History 