Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
January 4, 1914 The F5, one of the first submarines to be acquired and operated by the Brazilian Navy, was launched at the Fiat-San Giorgio Shipyard in northwest Italy. This vessel was part of the Foca (known more simply as F) class, the Brazilian Navy’s original group of submarines. The F5, which had been built... Continue Reading →
December 26, 1860 A lighthouse built on one of the islands of Race Rocks, which are located just off the southern point of Vancouver Island, was first illuminated. At the time of that lighthouse’s debut, Vancouver Island was a British Crown colony. This colony was merged with the Crown colony of mainland British Columbia in... Continue Reading →
December 20, 1879 A notable “first” for Japanese lighthouses took place with the installation of a fog horn – a device using highly audible signs to warn vessels of navigational hazards such as rocky coastlines in foggy weather – at Shiriyazaki Lighthouse in the Tōhoku region. This lighthouse is located on Cape Shiriyazaki, the northernmost... Continue Reading →
December 14, 1890 In the Philippines, Cape Santiago Lighthouse on the island of Luzon first went into service. This lighthouse is specifically located on Cape Santiago in Calatagan, a municipality that is about 81 miles (130 kilometers) southwest of Manila, in the Province of Batangas. Cape Santiago Lighthouse helps guide vessels traveling through the strait... Continue Reading →
December 11, 1866 In Denmark, the shipping business DFDS was established as a merger of that nation’s three largest steamship companies. Those three companies were brought together as a single entity under the leadership of renowned industrialist and financier Carl Frederik Tietgen (1829-1901), who played a key role in the economic growth and prosperity of Denmark... Continue Reading →
Francis J. Mee, whose service in the U.S. Navy spanned more than three decades, was born on August 11, 1899, on the White Earth Indian Reservation in northwest Minnesota. This reservation is home to the federally recognized White Earth Band of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe (also known as the White Earth Nation). Mee’s mother was... Continue Reading →
November 27, 2013 A renovated drawbridge in Busan Metropolitan City in South Korea was officially reopened. (Busan is second only to Seoul as South Korea’s most populous city.) This bridge, which spans Busan Bay, connects Yeong Island (formally designated as Yeongdo District) with Jung District on the mainland portion of the city. Yeongdo Bridge was... Continue Reading →
November 20, 1872 In Massachusetts, Wood End Light in Provincetown on Cape Cod first went into service. The 39-foot (12-meter)-tall brick lighthouse, which serves as a navigational aid for vessels approaching Provincetown Harbor, is specifically situated near the southernmost extremity of a curving section of land known as the Provincetown Spit. There had long been... Continue Reading →
November 7, 1857 On Maryland’s side of the Potomac River, a cast iron light pole was installed as the first navigational aid in an area that is about 20 miles (32.2 kilometers) south of Washington, D.C. This pole was specifically put into place on the grounds of Fort Washington, which ultimately served for many years... Continue Reading →
October 25, 1892 A lighthouse built at the northern tip of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula and along the Straits of Mackinac was first lit. This structure, which is known as Old Mackinac Point Light, is specifically located at the junction of Lake Michigan and Lake Huron -- one of the busiest areas for vessels in the... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 