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A Day in the Past

Transport

176 stories through the year, in calendar order. Tap one to visit its day.

January

1 Jan 1948 British Railways is created as the railways are nationalisedBritain's 'Big Four' railway companies were nationalised, which means the government took them over. Together they became British Railways, a single …
Photo: Ben Brooksbank, CC BY-SA 2.0
2 Jan 1818 Six engineers found the Institution of Civil EngineersA group of six engineers founded the Institution of Civil Engineers in Britain. Civil engineers design things such as roads, bridges, canals and harb…
Photo: Henry Raeburn, Public domain
5 Jan 1914 Ford announces an eight-hour day and $5 daily payThe Ford Motor Company announced that its workers would have an eight-hour working day and earn at least $5 a day, including bonuses. At the time, th…
5 Jan 1993 The oil tanker Braer runs aground off ShetlandThe oil tanker MV Braer ran aground during a storm off Shetland, the most northerly part of the United Kingdom. More than 80,000 tons of crude oil, a…
6 Jan 1947 Pan Am offers the first round-the-world airline ticketThe American airline Pan Am became the first airline to offer a round-the-world ticket. With it, a traveller could fly all the way around the world o…
7 Jan 1785 A gas balloon makes the first flight across the English ChannelFrench inventor Jean-Pierre Blanchard and American doctor John Jeffries flew from Dover, in England, to Calais, in France, in a gas balloon. It was t…
Photo: J. Newton, sculpsit ; R. Livesay, pinxit, Public domain
7 Jan 1904 Marconi's company chooses CQD as a radio distress callThe Marconi International Marine Communication Company announced that ships in distress, or needing help, should send the radio call 'CQD'. It was on…
8 Jan 2004 The Queen names the ocean liner Queen Mary 2Queen Elizabeth II christened, or officially named, the ocean liner RMS Queen Mary 2. The ship was named after Queen Mary, the Queen's grandmother. A…
Photo: Oceanhistory46, CC BY-SA 4.0
9 Jan 1923 Juan de la Cierva makes the first autogyro flightSpanish engineer Juan de la Cierva made the first successful flight in his autogyro, a stable aircraft with spinning blades. An autogyro has a rotor …
9 Jan 1941 The Avro Lancaster aeroplane flies for the first timeThe Avro Lancaster, a British four-engine heavy bomber, made its first flight. It was designed by Roy Chadwick and powered by four Rolls-Royce Merlin…
10 Jan 1812 The steamboat New Orleans completes its first voyageThe New Orleans, the first steamboat on the Mississippi River, arrived in the city of New Orleans at the end of its first voyage. It had travelled fr…
10 Jan 1863 The world's first underground railway opens in LondonThe Metropolitan Railway opened to the public between Paddington and Farringdon Street in London. It was the world's first underground railway for pa…
Photo: Unknown (illegible), Public domain
10 Jan 1985 Clive Sinclair launches the C5 electric tricycleInventor Sir Clive Sinclair unveiled the Sinclair C5, a small one-person tricycle powered by a battery and pedals. Its top speed was only 15 miles pe…
Photo: Grant Mitchell, CC BY 2.0
11 Jan 1935 Amelia Earhart flies solo from Hawaii to CaliforniaAmerican pilot Amelia Earhart became the first person to fly alone from Honolulu, in Hawaii, to Oakland, in California. She flew a Lockheed Vega aero…
Photo: Underwood & Underwood (active 1880 – c. 1950), Public domain
12 Jan 1866 The world's oldest society for flight is founded in LondonThe Aeronautical Society of Great Britain was founded in London. Aeronautics is the science of flight, and this is the oldest aeronautical society in…
12 Jan 1899 Lynmouth's lifeboat crew begin hauling their boat over ExmoorIn a fierce storm, a big sailing ship called the Forrest Hall got into trouble off the Devon coast. The sea was too rough to launch Lynmouth's lifebo…
12 Jan 2004 Queen Mary 2 sets sail on her maiden voyageThe giant British liner Queen Mary 2 left Southampton on her maiden, or first, voyage to Fort Lauderdale in Florida. She carried 2,620 passengers. At…
Photo: Oceanhistory46, CC BY-SA 4.0
13 Jan 1942 Henry Ford patents a car made from soybean plasticCar maker Henry Ford patented a car made almost entirely of plastic, fixed to a metal frame. The plastic was made using soybeans and other crops. The…
Photo: Ford Motor Company. Photographic Department, Public domain
13 Jan 1942 A test pilot makes the first escape using an ejection seatGerman test pilot Helmut Schenk became the first person to escape from a failing aircraft using an ejection seat. Ice had stopped the controls of his…
14 Jan 1899 The giant liner Oceanic is launched in BelfastThe ocean liner RMS Oceanic was launched at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, watched by more than 50,000 people. Built for the White Star L…
15 Jan 2009 A passenger plane lands safely on the Hudson RiverSoon after taking off from New York, a passenger plane hit a flock of Canada geese, and both its engines failed. Because they were so low, pilots Che…
18 Jan 1788 HMS Supply, first ship of the First Fleet, reaches Botany BayHMS Supply became the first ship of Britain's First Fleet to reach Botany Bay, in Australia. The fleet had sailed from England in May 1787 to set up …
18 Jan 1911 Eugene Ely makes the first aeroplane landing on a shipAmerican pilot Eugene Ely landed his aeroplane on a platform built on the warship USS Pennsylvania, anchored in San Francisco Bay. It was the first t…
18 Jan 2005 The Airbus A380, the world's biggest airliner, is unveiledThe first Airbus A380 was shown to the world at a ceremony in Toulouse, France. It is the largest passenger airliner ever built and the only one with…
19 Jan 1978 The last Volkswagen Beetle made in Germany rolls off the lineThe last Volkswagen Beetle to be built in Germany left the factory in Emden. Factories in Latin America kept making the car until 2003. The Beetle, k…
19 Jan 1995 Everyone is rescued after lightning strikes a North Sea helicopterA helicopter flying from Aberdeen to an oil platform in the North Sea was struck by lightning, which badly damaged its tail rotor. The pilots made a …
Photo: Chennell Productions, CC BY-SA 2.0
20 Jan 1788 The main part of the First Fleet reaches Botany BayThe main group of ships of the First Fleet arrived at Botany Bay, in Australia, marking the start of British settlement there. The eleven ships had l…
Photo: Original drawing by R. Cleveley, engraving by T. Medland, Public domain
21 Jan 1911 The first Monte Carlo Rally takes placeThe first Monte Carlo Rally was held, organised at the wish of Prince Albert I of Monaco. Twenty-three cars set out from 11 different starting points…
21 Jan 1954 USS Nautilus, the first nuclear-powered submarine, is launchedUSS Nautilus, the world's first submarine powered by a nuclear reactor, was launched at Groton, Connecticut, in the United States. Mamie Eisenhower, …
21 Jan 1976 Concorde begins its first scheduled passenger flightsConcorde, a supersonic airliner built jointly by Britain and France, began flying paying passengers on scheduled routes. Supersonic means faster than…
Photo: Eduard Marmet, CC BY-SA 3.0
21 Jan 1981 The first DeLorean car is completed in Northern IrelandThe DeLorean Motor Company finished its first production car at its factory in Dunmurry, near Belfast in Northern Ireland. The DeLorean sports car ha…
Photo: Kevin Abato, www.grenexmedia.com, CC BY-SA 3.0
22 Jan 1970 The Boeing 747 jumbo jet carries its first passengersThe Boeing 747 began passenger service with the airline Pan Am on the route between New York and London. It was the world's first wide-body airliner,…
25 Jan 1890 Nellie Bly completes a record-breaking trip around the worldAmerican journalist Nellie Bly arrived back in New York after travelling around the world by land and sea in just over 72 days. This was a record at …
26 Jan 1788 The First Fleet lands at Sydney Cove in AustraliaCaptain Arthur Phillip and the First Fleet of eleven British ships landed at Sydney Cove. They had left Portsmouth in May 1787 with more than 1,400 p…
Photo: Francis Wheatley, Public domain
27 Jan 1983 Diggers break through on Japan's undersea Seikan TunnelTunnellers broke through the pilot shaft of the Seikan Tunnel in Japan. The railway tunnel is 53.85 kilometres long and links Honshu, Japan's main is…
28 Jan 1855 The first train crosses Panama from ocean to oceanA train on the Panama Railway travelled from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean for the first time. The railway crosses the Isthmus of Panama, a…
28 Jan 1896 Walter Arnold becomes the first person convicted of speedingWalter Arnold of East Peckham, Kent, became the first person to be convicted of speeding. He had been driving at 8 mph (13 km/h), when the speed limi…
29 Jan 1819 Stamford Raffles lands on the island of SingaporeThe British official Stamford Raffles landed on the island of Singapore. That year he secured control of it from local rulers, to protect British shi…
29 Jan 1886 Carl Benz patents the first practical motor carGerman engineer Carl Benz received a patent for his petrol-powered motor car, the Benz Patent-Motorwagen. It is considered the first practical modern…
Photo: DaimlerChrysler AG, CC BY-SA 3.0
30 Jan 1826 Thomas Telford's Menai Suspension Bridge opens in WalesThe Menai Suspension Bridge opened, linking the island of Anglesey with the mainland of north-west Wales across the Menai Strait. It was designed by …
30 Jan 1862 USS Monitor, the US Navy's first ironclad warship, is launchedThe United States Navy launched USS Monitor during the American Civil War. It became the first ironclad, or iron-armoured, warship to serve in the US…
Photo: Public domain, Public domain
30 Jan 1911 A ship makes the first rescue of an aeroplane pilot at seaThe American destroyer USS Terry made the first rescue at sea of an aeroplane pilot. It saved the life of the flyer Douglas McCurdy about 16 kilometr…
30 Jan 1920 The company that became carmaker Mazda is foundedThe company that became the Japanese carmaker Mazda was founded by Jujiro Matsuda. At first it was called Toyo Cork Kogyo and made cork, the material…
31 Jan 1858 Brunel's giant steamship Great Eastern is finally launchedThe SS Great Eastern, an iron steamship designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, was launched at Millwall on the River Thames in London. It was by far th…
31 Jan 2023 The last Boeing 747 jumbo jet is deliveredThe very last Boeing 747 was delivered to the airline Atlas Air. The plane was named 'Empower'. The 747 was the world's first wide-body airliner, oft…

February

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October

November

December