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The Modern Historian
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A blog focusing on the work of an academic historian and his research into the modern world. A collection of articles and links of interest to anyone who has a taste for modern history.
Recent Posts Tagged With 'Engineering'
On this day in history: Voyager landed after record flight, 1986
In 1980, a former United States Air Force pilot called Dick Rutan met fellow pilot Jeana Yeager (no relation of Chuck Yeager) at an airshow in Chino, California. Romance blossomed between the two, and Yeager became a test pilot at Rutan's aircraft co...
On this day in history: Only spaceflight of Buran, 1988
In 1974 engineers of the Soviet Union began work on the Buran ("Blizzard") project, which was a response to NASA's Space Shuttle programme. The Russian engineers favoured a design for a lighter reusable spacecraft where the entire body of the craft c...
On this day in history: Work finished on Mount Rushmore sculpture, 1941
During the early 1920s, the state historian of South Dakota, Doane Robinson, promoted his idea of commissioning giant sculptures of key figures in the history of the West, such as Chief Red Cloud, Lewis and Clark, and 'Buffalo' Bill Cody. For a while...
On this day in history: Tom Thumb beat a horse, 1830
In 1826, two Baltimore bankers, Philip E. Thomas and George Brown, visited England to investigate rail transportation systems. In the year since the Erie Canal opened, providing a new transportation route from mid-western cities to New York, Baltimor...
On this day in history: Cologne Cathedral completed, 1880
In 1164, Cologne's Archbishop Rainald von Dassel brought the relics of the Magi to the city after the Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick Barbarossa, took them from Milan. These relics attracted pilgrims from across Europe to the city's old Carolingian cat...
On this day in history: Hollywood sign dedicated, 1923
In 1923 the owner of the Los Angeles Times, Harry Chandler, the banker and railroad owner, General M. H. Sherman, and developer Sidney H. Woodruff formed a real estate syndicate to develop a 500-acre site in the Hollywood Hills called Hollywoodland. ...
On this day in history: Golden Gate Bridge opened, 1937
In 1916, the editor of The San Francisco Call & Post, James Wilkins, started a campaign to revive the idea of a bridge to span the Golden Gate - the strait that connects San Francisco Bay with the Pacific Ocean - in order to cut congestion on the...
On this day in history: First World`s Fair, 1851
On 1st May 1851, Queen Victorian opened the Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of all Nations, in Hyde Park, London. Unlike the 1844 French Industrial Exposition, the Great Exhibition included exhibits from other nations - although British ind...
On this day in history: Eiffel Tower inaugurated, 1889
In 1884, the French structural engineer and architect, Gustave Eiffel, started to draw up plans for a 300-metre tall iron tower. He submitted his design as an entrance arch to those responsible for the Exposición Universal de 1888, a World's Fair to...
