The Crittenden Automotive Library

On This Day in Automotive History: January 18

On This Day in Automotive History
January 18

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Birthdays: Clarence Smith (1883), Fred Melaun (1885), Robert Pennebaker (1887), Jim Parsons (1891), Dusty Fahrnow (1903), Ben Zukor (1918), Charles Gattilia (1927), Ian Baillie (1928), Ernest Eury (1929), Joe Martin (1929), Johnny White (1932), Ronnie Chumley (1935), Jerry Poland (1935), Pedro Rodriguez (1940), Johnny Servoz-Gavin (1942), Jerry Oliver (1944), Jimmy Caruthers (1945), Philippe Gurdjian (1945), Gianfranco Brancatelli (1950), Gilles Villeneuve (1950), Kazuho Takahashi (1953), Troy Cozad (1959), Gunnar van der Steur (1960), Hubert Stromberger (1963), Ed Brown (1963), Andre Ribeiro (1966), Jeff Emery (1969), Richard Gottlieb (1970), Frank Maronski Jr. (1970), Christian Fittipaldi (1971), Meisam Taheri (1980), Jonathan Hicken (1982), Josh Hurley (1985), Pier-Luc Ouellette (1987), Nick Barstad (1994), Austin McCusker (1998)

1911: An Office of Public Roads engineer begins a thorough study of roads in Mobile County, Alabama, particularly those under county supervision. During the review, which concludes March 6, he finds that except for a few shell roads, the county does not have any improved roads.

1912: The Kansas State Good Roads Association's 2-day 10th Annual Convention in Emporia concludes. Director Logan Page delivers an address on the value of good roads, stating that at present, road work is carried on inefficiently. Noting that about 100,000 township road offices exercise separate authority with no one to direct them, he asks, "What would a great railroad organization do if each of its section bosses were permitted to buy all of the material for the construction and maintenance of his division of the railroad?" At the close of his address, Page invites questions. Asked if a county surveyor, instead of a State engineer, could handle road work, Page responds, "It would be just as sensible to appoint an astrologer to build the good roads."

1919: Bentley founded.

1961: Maryland is the first State to enter into a "Bonus Agreement" on control of outdoor advertising under the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1958, providing for a 1-percent increase in the Federal share of Interstate highway projects.

1977: The film Checkered Flag or Crash was released in the U.S.

1980: John Foxx released the album Metamatic including the tracks “No-One Driving” and “Underpass.”

1997: The song “455 Rocket” by Kathy Mattea was released.

2007: The W204 version of the Mercedes-Benz C-Class was introduced.

2008: Tata Motors establishes Jaguar Land Rover as a British-registered, wholly owned subsidiary.

On This Day in Automotive History: January 18