Portal:Transport/Selected anniversaries/August
| << | Selected anniversaries for August | >> | ||||
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| An archive of Selected anniversaries that appeared on the Transport Portal 2024 day arrangement | ||||||
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- 1820 – London's Regent's Canal opens.
- 1902 – The United States buys the rights to the Panama Canal from France.
- 1941 – The first Jeep is produced.
- 2007 – The I-35W Mississippi River bridge (pictured) spanning the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minnesota, collapsed during the evening rush hour.
More events: May 15 – May 16 – May 17
- 1610 – Henry Hudson (pictured) sails into what it is now known as Hudson Bay, thinking he had made it through the Northwest Passage and reached the Pacific Ocean.
- 1870 – Tower Subway, the world's first underground tube railway, opens in London.
- 1980 – A bomb explodes at the railway station in Bologna, Italy, killing 85 people and wounding more than 200.
- 1985 – Delta Air Lines Flight 191, a Lockheed L-1011 TriStar crashes at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport killing 137.
More events: May 15 – May 16 – May 17
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- 1492 – Christopher Columbus (pictured) sets sail from Palos de la Frontera, Spain.
- 1527 – First known letter was sent from North America by John Rut while at St. John's, Newfoundland.
- 1958 – The nuclear submarine USS Nautilus travels beneath the Arctic ice cap.
- 1975 – A privately chartered Boeing 707 impacts the mountainside near Agadir, Morocco killing 188.
- 1981 – In the United States, Air traffic controllers affiliated with the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization walk off the job. President Ronald Reagan ultimately responds by firing those who ignore his order to return to work.
More events: May 15 – May 16 – May 17
- 1902 – Greenwich foot tunnel under the River Thames opens.
- 1906 – Central Railway Station, Sydney opens.
- 2007 – NASA's Phoenix spaceship (pictured) is launched.
More events: May 15 – May 16 – May 17
- 1620 – The Mayflower (pictured) departs Southampton, England.
- 1888 – Bertha Benz drives from Mannheim to Pforzheim in the first long distance automobile trip.
- 1912 – Japan's first taxicab service begins in Ginza, Tokyo.
- 1914 – In Cleveland, Ohio, United States, the first electric traffic light is installed.
More events: May 15 – May 16 – May 17
- 1923 – Henry Sullivan swims the English Channel.
- 1929 – The Ghan (pictured) begins operation in Australia under its current name.
- 1961 – Cosmonaut Gherman Titov makes the second successful manned orbital flight for the Soviet Union.
- 1966 – Braniff Airlines Flight 250 crashes in Falls City, NE killing all 42 on board.
- 1986 – A spectacular train accident at Paris' Gare de l'Est kills 1 and injures 56. This disaster happened only a few weeks after another Gare de Lyon train accident on June 27; SNCF's president Philippe Rouvillois was forced to resign.
- 1997 – Korean Air Flight 801, a Boeing 747-300, crashes into the jungle on Guam on approach to airport, killing 228.
More events: May 15 – May 16 – May 17
- 1905 – The Marion and Johnston City Railway, a predecessor of Missouri Pacific Railroad, is incorporated in Illinois, United States.
- 1924 – Streetcars operate for the last time in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, United States, to be replaced with buses.
- 1927 – The Peace Bridge opens, between Fort Erie, Ontario and Buffalo, New York.
- 1947 – Thor Heyerdahl's balsa wood raft the Kon-Tiki (pictured), smashes into the reef at Raroia in the Tuamotu Islands after a 101-day, 7000-km (4375-mile) journey across the Pacific Ocean proving that pre-historic peoples could have traveled from South America.
- 1954 – The last streetcars operate on the Altoona and Logan Valley Electric Railway in Altoona, Pennsylvania, United States.
- 1976 – Viking program: Viking 2 enters into orbit around Mars.
More events: May 15 – May 16 – May 17
- 1794 – Joseph Whidbey and George Vancouver lead an expedition to search for the Northwest Passage near Juneau, Alaska, United States.
- 1837 – Hollandsche IJzeren Spoorweg-Maatschappij, the first railway company in the Netherlands, is founded.
- 1908 – Wilbur Wright (pictured) makes his first flight at a racecourse at Le Mans, France. It's the Wright Brothers' first public flight and the French public goes wild.
More events: May 15 – May 16 – May 17
- 1844 – In the United Kingdom, the Railway Regulation Act of 1844 requires every railway company to run at least one passenger train a day in both directions along the length of each of its lines, calling at every station; these trains soon become known as Parliamentaries.
- 1885 – The first fully controllable free-flight is made in a French Army dirigible La France by Charles Renard and Arthur Krebs.
- 1945 – B-29 Bockscar drops a plutonium-239 nuclear weapon, Fat Man (pictured), on Nagasaki.
- 1958 – The Moccasin, the longest running named passenger train in Canada thus far, is discontinued.
- 2000 – Firestone recalls 6.5 million tires in the United States.
More events: May 15 – May 16 – May 17
- 1628 – The Swedish warship Vasa (pictured) sinks in the Stockholm harbour after only about 20 minutes on her maiden voyage.
- 1903 – 84 people die in the Paris Metro train fire after a short circuit develops in a train's control system and sparks a fire.
- 1938 – A Lufthansa Focke-Wulf Fw 200 makes a non-stop flight from Berlin to New York, via Hamburg, Glasgow, Newfoundland, and Halifax, taking 24 hours 36 minutes for the trip.
- 1947 – a new world airspeed record of 1,031 km/h (640 mph) is set in the Douglas Skystreak.
- 1947 – British European Airways began the world's first regular cargo-only airline service.
More events: May 15 – May 16 – May 17
- 1939 – Pan American World Airways begins scheduled flights from New York City, United States to Southampton, United Kingdom.
- 1966 – The first Chevrolet Camaro (pictured) is produced in Norwood, Ohio, United States.
- 1968 – The last steam passenger train service runs in Britain. A selection of British Rail steam locomotives make the 190-kilometer (120 mi) journey from Liverpool to Carlisle and returns to Liverpool before having their fires dropped for the last time—this working was known as the Fifteen Guinea Special.
- 1986 – A modified Westland Lynx sets a new helicopter world speed record of 401 km/h (249 mph)
- 1995 – The first fatal accident on the Toronto Subway, the Russell Hill subway accident, claims three lives.
More events: May 15 – May 16 – May 17
- 1908 – First Ford Model T built.
- 1977 – The first free flight of the Space Shuttle Enterprise (pictured).
- 1985 – Japan Airlines Flight 123 crashes into Mount Ogura in Gunma Prefecture, Japan, killing 520. It is the worst single-plane air disaster.
- 2000 – The Oscar class submarine K-141 Kursk of the Russian Navy exploded and sank in the Barents Sea during a military exercise.
- 2007 – Bulk carrier M/V New Flame collides with oil tanker Torm Gertrud at the southernmost tip of Gibraltar, ending up partially submerged.
More events: May 15 – May 16 – May 17
- 1913 – Bayerische Motoren Werke (BMW) established as a public company in Germany.
- 1914 – A Royal Aircraft Factory BE.2 (pictured) becomes the first British aircraft to arrive in France for the war.
More events: May 15 – May 16 – May 17
- 1893 – France introduces motor vehicle registration.
- 1901 – The first claimed powered flight, by Gustave Whitehead in his Number 21 (pictured).
- 1972 – An East German Ilyushin Il-62 crashes during takeoff from East Berlin, killing 156.
More events: May 15 – May 16 – May 17
- 1517 – Seven Portuguese armed vessels led by Fernão Pires de Andrade meet Chinese officials at the Pearl River estuary.
- 1900 – Regular service begins between Skagway, Alaska, and Whitehorse, Yukon, on the White Pass and Yukon Route (pictured).
- 1939 – 13 Stukas dive into the ground during a disastrous air-practice at Neuhammer. No survivors.
More events: May 15 – May 16 – May 17
- 1944 – First flight of the Junkers Ju 287 (pictured).
- 1984 – The first full revenue Chicago and North Western Railway coal train leaves the Powder River Basin with a load from the North Antelope Mine.
- 1987 – A McDonnell Douglas MD-82 carrying Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes on take-off from Detroit Metropolitan Airport in Romulus, Michigan (Detroit), killing 155 passengers and crew. The sole survivor is four-year-old Cecelia Cichan.
- 2005 – West Caribbean Airways Flight 708 crashes near Machiques, Venezuela, killing the 160 aboard.
More events: May 15 – May 16 – May 17
- 1849 – The Old Guarantee System providing land grants to English companies for railroad construction in India is finalized.
- 1886 – The 7 11 km (6.8 mi) long Lakeside and Marblehead Railroad is incorporated in Ottawa County, Ohio, United States.
- 1897 – Purvis is awarded a patent for an electric railroad switch.
- 1979 – Two Soviet Aeroflot jetliners collide in mid-air over Ukraine, killing 156.
More events: May 15 – May 16 – May 17
- 1541 – A Portuguese ship drifts ashore in the ancient Japanese province of Higo (modern day Kumamoto Prefecture).
- 1883 – Construction on the Canadian Pacific Railway reaches Calgary, Alberta.
- 1990 – The Gråkallbanen (pictured), part of the Trondheim Tramway, Norway, is reopened after the city council permanently closed the tramway in 1988.
More events: May 15 – May 16 – May 17
- 1921 – The Railways Act 1921 is published in the United Kingdom, merging the country's 120 railway companies into the Big Four.
- 1933 – New York City Subway's IND Crosstown Line opens between the Queens Plaza and Nassau Avenue stations.
- 1960 – Sputnik program: Sputnik 5 - The Soviet Union launches the satellite with the dogs Belka and Strelka, 40 mice, 2 rats and a variety of plants.
- 1980 – Saudia Flight 163, a Lockheed L-1011 TriStar burns after making an emergency landing at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, killing 301 people.
- 2002 – A Russian Mi-26 helicopter (pictured) carrying troops is hit by a Chechen missile outside of Grozny, killing 118 soldiers.
More events: May 15 – May 16 – May 17
- 1854 – The first trains operate in what is now Romania between Oraviţa, Transylvania, and Baziaş, on the Danube.
- 1868 – The Abergele train disaster, the first major railway disaster in Britain, occurs when a train uncouples and runs away down a steep incline; railroads install catchpoints to prevent such a disaster in the future.
- 1975 – Viking Program: NASA launches the Viking 1 (pictured) planetary probe toward Mars.
- 1977 – Voyager Program: The United States launches the Voyager 2 spacecraft.
- 1979 – The East Coast Main Line rail route between England and Scotland is restored when the Penmanshiel Diversion opens.
More events: May 15 – May 16 – May 17
- 1821 – Jarvis Island is discovered by the crew of the Eliza Frances.
- 1993 – NASA loses contact with the Mars Observer spacecraft (pictured).
More events: May 15 – May 16 – May 17
- 1780 – James Cook's ship HMS Resolution returns to England (Cook having been killed on Hawaii during the voyage).
- 1849 – First air raid in history. Austria launched pilotless balloons against the Italian city of Venice.
- 1905 – The Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway is incorporated.
- 1935 – Diesel locomotives begin to replace steam locomotives on Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's long-distance passenger trains.
- 1962 – The NS Savannah, the world's first nuclear-powered cargo ship, completes its maiden voyage.
- 2003 – Sound Transit connects to Tacoma, Washington, United States.
More events: May 15 – May 16 – May 17
- 1889 – First wireless message from a ship to the shore received.
- 1904 – The automobile tire chain is patented.
- 1944 – Freckleton Air Disaster—a United States Army Air Forces B-24 Liberator bomber crashes into a school in Freckleton, England killing 61 people.
- 1954 – First flight of the C-130 Hercules transport aircraft.
- 1966 – Lunar Orbiter 1 takes the first photograph of Earth from orbit around the Moon.
- 2000 – A Gulf Air Airbus A320 crashes into the Persian Gulf near Manama, Bahrain, killing 143.
More events: May 15 – May 16 – May 17
- 1875 – Captain Matthew Webb became first person to swim English Channel.
- 1932 – Amelia Earhart (pictured) is the first woman to fly across the United States non-stop (from Los Angeles to Newark, New Jersey).
- 1989 – Voyager 2 passes Neptune.
- 2001 – Air Transat Flight 236 runs out of fuel over the Atlantic Ocean (en route to Lisbon from Toronto) and makes an emergency landing in the Azores.
More events: May 15 – May 16 – May 17
- 1768 – James Cook begins his first voyage.
- 1910 – Yellow Cab is founded.
- 1981 – Voyager 2 (pictured) spacecraft makes its closest approach to Saturn
- 1989 – Voyager 2 spacecraft makes its closest approach to Neptune, the outermost planet in the Solar System.
More events: May 15 – May 16 – May 17
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- 1839 – The ship Amistad (pictured) is captured off Long Island.
- 1929 – For the first time, Canadian National Railway uses diesel locomotives to power a passenger train, with unit number 9000 on the second section of the International Limited between Montreal and Toronto.
- 1994 – The Dominion Atlantic Railway operates its last train, just a month short of the railroad's 100th anniversary.
More events: May 15 – May 16 – May 17
- 1962 – Mariner 2 launched to Venus.
- 1993 – The Florida Department of Transportation decides to cease producing its distinctive colored U.S. Highway shields so that it can make use of Federal funds for those signs.
- 2006 – Comair Flight 5191 crashed en route from Blue Grass Airport in Lexington, Kentucky, to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Forty-nine of the 50 people aboard the flight were confirmed dead in the hours following the crash.
More events: May 15 – May 16 – May 17
- 1830 – The Tom Thumb presages the first railway service in the United States.
- 1937 – Toyota Motors becomes an independent company.
- 1988 – Ramstein airshow disaster: Three aircraft of the Frecce Tricolori demonstration team collide and fall into the crowd. 75 are killed, 346 seriously injured.
- 1990 – The Plainfield Tornado: An F5 tornado hits in Plainfield, Illinois, and Joliet, Illinois, United States, killing 28 people.
More events: May 15 – May 16 – May 17
- 1869 – The Mount Washington Cog Railway opens, making it the world's first rack railway.
- 1907 – The Quebec Bridge (pictured) collapses during construction, killing 75 workers.
- 1915 – US Navy salvage divers raise F-4, first U.S. submarine sunk in accident.
- 1996 – Vnukovo Airlines Flight 2801, a Vnukovo Airlines Tupolev Tu-154 crashes into a mountain on the Arctic island of Spitsbergen, killing all 141 aboard.
More events: May 15 – May 16 – May 17
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- 1962 – Japan conducts a test of the NAMC YS-11 (pictured), its first aircraft since the war and its only successful commercial aircraft from before or after the war.
- 1984 – STS-41-D: The Space Shuttle Discovery takes off on its maiden voyage.
More events: May 15 – May 16 – May 17
- 1943 – The USS Harmon, the first U.S. Navy ship to be named for a black person, is commissioned.
- 1965 – The Aero Spacelines Super Guppy makes its first flight.
- 1986 – Aeroméxico Flight 498 collides with a Piper PA-28 over Cerritos, United States, killing 67 in the air and 15 on the ground.
- 1999 – A LAPA Boeing 737-200 crashes during takeoff from Jorge Newbury Airport in Buenos Aires, killing 65, including 2 on the ground.