Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
May 10, 1865 A foundation stone was laid for the third and current version of St Bees Lighthouse in northwestern England. This ceremony marked the start of construction on this structure on the headland known as St Bees Head, which overlooks the Irish Sea. Those on hand for the ceremony included Henry Norris, an engineer... Continue Reading →
May 2, 1906 Thomas F. Airis, who would become director of the District of Columbia’s Department of Highways and Traffic (a predecessor of the present-day District Department of Transportation) was born in the town of Eau Claire, Wisconsin. He earned his degree in, civil engineering from the University of Wisconsin. In 1929, Airis joined the... Continue Reading →
April 17, 1896 James Rich Steers, who achieved widespread fame for his shipbuilding achievements, died at his home in New York City from what the New York Time characterized as “an attack of acute indigestion.” He was 88. Steers was born on October 15, 1808, in Plymouth, England. His father Henry Steers worked for the... Continue Reading →
April 15, 1914 Maughold Head Lighthouse on the eastern coast of the Isle of Man, a British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, first went into service. This lighthouse, which overlooks Ramsey Bay, is named for the headland upon which it was built. (Maughold Head marks the closest point -- a distance of only 31... Continue Reading →
April 10, 1990 After more than a century of being staffed by keepers on a regular basis, Ar Men lighthouse in the part of the Atlantic Ocean marking the western end of France’s Brittany region was fully automated. This lighthouse is specifically situated within a vast area of reefs known as the Chaussée de Sein.... Continue Reading →
April 9, 1930 Edward Sycamore, described in the Guardian as "a well-known skipper of racing yachts,” died at his home in the English coastal town of Brightlingsea. He was 74. The next day’s edition of the Guardian noted, “He had few rivals in the art of handling and maneuvering racing craft.” Sycamore was born on... Continue Reading →
March 20, 1910 The Montedor Lighthouse (Farol de Montedor) along Portugal’s Atlantic coast officially went into service. This 92-foot (28-meter)-tall granite tower, which stands on a promontory that is part of the municipality of Viana de Castelo, has the distinction of being the northernmost lighthouse in Portugal. The Montedor Lighthouse is seven nautical miles (13... Continue Reading →
March 19, 1947 William Starling Burgess, whose transportation legacy spans multiple means of mobility, died at his home in Hoboken, New Jersey. He was 68. Burgess was born in Boston on Christmas Day in 1878. His father, Edward Burgess, was a renowned yacht designer. Early on in life, William Starling Burgess demonstrated a high level... 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 →
Grace Darling earned worldwide acclaim for her heroic efforts to help rescue survivors of a shipwreck off the coast of northeastern England’s ceremonial county of Northumberland in 1838. The seventh of nine children, Darling was born in Northumberland on November 24, 1815. Her father William was a lighthouse keeper. In 1826, William Darling became keeper... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 