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On This Day in Automotive History: April 5

On This Day in Automotive History
April 5

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National Read a Road Map Day

Birthdays: Luigi Castelbarco (1909), John Wakefield (1915), Howard Osborn (1920), Andy Linden (1922), Alfonso Thiele (1922), Bernard Consten (1932), Ronnie Bucknum (1936), Bob Witkop (1940), John Craft (1945), John Greenwood (1945), Drake Olson (1955), Jacques Nicolet (1956), Dave Ashley (1957), Art Seeger (1957), Jeff Bedell (1961), Dan Bezanson (1961), Skip Arp (1963), Mike Bliss (1965), Ian Spurle (1965), Greg Harrison (1968), Raymond Terczak Jr. (1968), Chris Stockton (1969), Soheil Ayari (1970), Dave Brigati (1971), Tom Coronel (1972), Roger Holtsclaw III (1972), Brett Whitmore (1974), Wolf Henzler (1975), Wayne Helliwell Jr. (1977), Casper Elgaard (1978), Eric Gerchak (1979), Alexandre Premat (1982), B.J. Piekarski (1984), Lee Pulliam (1988), Justin South (1988), Bob Williams (1988), David Wilson (1989), Tyler Roahrig (1991), Nathan Morcom (1992), Thomas Laurent (1998), Tyler Dippel (2000), Dillon Steuer (2002)

1932: The first stage of the final Bates Road Test, near Springfield, Illinois, is completed when the loaded trucks used in the test had made 1,000 round trips over the 63 test sections on the 2-mile road. The tests, which are sponsored by the Illinois Division of Highways and Bureau of Public Roads, demonstrated the need for control of wheel loads and result in the use of a thickened edge on concrete pavements.

1962: In an important message to Congress, President John F. Kennedy recommends that approval of Federal-aid highway projects in any metropolitan area should be contingent on a finding by the Secretary of Commerce, via Bureau of Public Roads, that the projects are consistent with adequate, comprehensive development plans for the area or are based on a continuing planning process carried on cooperatively by the States and local communities. The recommendations are largely based on a joint report on urban transportation submitted to the President on March 28 by Secretary of Commerce Luther Hodges and Housing and Home Finance Administrator Robert C. Weaver.

1966: The final episode of My Mother the Car aired on NBC.

1983: John DeLorean granted a U.S. patent for "Mounting for a Vehicle Door" for the DeLorean's famed gullwing doors.

1988: The song “Fast Car” by Tracy Chapman was released on her self-titled album.