Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
August 7, 1943 With World War II being waged across the globe, the U.S. Navy ship USS Chattanooga (PF-65) was launched at the shipyard of the Leathem B. Smith Shipbuilding Company in the city of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. This ship was named after one of Tennessee’s largest cities, and the christening duties at the vessel’s... Continue Reading →
July 16, 1938 Operations began for an airport in the town and borough of Luton in England. (Luton, which originated as a Saxon settlement in the sixth century, is approximately 32 miles [50 kilometers] northwest of London.) Luton Airport was officially opened on that Saturday by Sir Kingsley Wood (1881-1943), who had become the British... Continue Reading →
July 7, 1942 Exactly seven months after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor, Gulfport Army Airfield in southern Mississippi was opened as a small but still pivotal part of the United States’ overall involvement in World War II on the side of the Allies. This airport in the city of Gulfport was built by the U.S. Army... Continue Reading →
May 27, 2014 In the Bahamas, a newly built terminal for an airport in the town of Marsh Harbour first went into service. Marsh Harbour, which is located on Great Abaco Island (the largest of the country’s Abaco Islands), has achieved renown over the years as a major tourist attraction. “The 46,000 square foot [4,300... Continue Reading →
Fujio Matsuda was born in Honolulu on October 18, 1924. His parents Yoshio and Shimo had both emigrated to Hawaii from Japan. They taught Fujio, who would later be affectionately called “Fuj” -- a nickname ultimately modified to “Fudge” -- to embrace a wide range of traditional Japanese values that included gambare (to persevere), kansha... Continue Reading →
April 29, 1909 Aviation pioneer Pearl Laska Chamberlain was born to John W. and Lanie C. Bragg on Chestnut Mountain in Summers County, West Virginia. One of eight children, Chamberlain started out life as Lelia Pearl Bragg. At the age of 17, Chamberlain became a school teacher; she remained in this profession to one extent... Continue Reading →
April 21, 1906 The coastal passenger steamship SS Governor Cobb was launched at Roach’s Shipyard in the city of Chester, Pennsylvania. This vessel was the first ship built in the United States to be powered by steam turbines. That turbine technology was provided for the Governor Cobb by the New Jersey-based marine engineering firm W. &... Continue Reading →
Throughout much of World War II, Sadie Carrie Owney Horton worked for the U.S. Merchant Marine on a barge (a flat-bottomed boat used for transporting freight) that operated along the eastern coasts of the United States and Canada. Horton’s service ultimately earned her the distinction of being the first documented female to serve on a... Continue Reading →
A trailblazing pilot, Mildred Hemmons Carter started out life in the community of Isabella (also known as Benson) in central Alabama. She was born there on September 14, 1921, to Mamie and Luther Hemmons. Mildred and her family eventually moved to the city of Tuskegee in the eastern part of the state. After living there... Continue Reading →
February 20, 1943 With World War II very much underway across the globe, the ship SS Cape Johnson was launched at 11:00 a.m. at Consolidated Steel Corporation’s shipyard in the Los Angeles neighborhood. This ship, which was named after a cape off the coast of Washington state, was the 26th combination cargo-passenger vessel to be... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 