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On This Day in Automotive History: January 16

On This Day in Automotive History
January 16

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Birthdays: William Grover-Williams (1903), Heinz Brendel (1915), Alberto Crespo (1920), Rollie Beale (1930), Luki Botha (1930), Ray Duhigg (1930), Peter Procter (1930), Possum Jones (1934), A.J. Foyt (1935), Christian Heins (1935), Luiz Bueno (1937), Fred Gibson (1941), Bill Tempero (1944), Leon Walger (1944), Norm Benning (1952), Thierry Lecerf (1952), Piercarlo Ghinzani (1952), Ron Grimm (1952), Jack Chisholm (1953), Mitchell Barrett (1958), Dill Whittymore (1959), Tim Arre (1963), Jeff Hillock (1963), Chris Thompson (1963), Sport Allen (1969), Cyrille Sauvage (1973), Brandon White (1974), Cris Muhler (1975), Jarit Johnson (1979), Travis Swaim (1979), Jeremy Clements (1985), George Miedecke (1986), Wesley Falk (1989), Carmen Boix Gil (1995)

1912: During AAA's First Annual Federal Aid Good Roads Convention, U.S. Senator J. H. Bankhead of Alabama says, "I hope to live long enough to see the realization of these things that we are here discussing . . . . God being my helper and preserving my life, I intend, sir, to devote that time in urging upon Congress and the country the adoption of a system of National and State aid in cooperation." (The Federal Aid Road Act of 1916 is sometimes called the "Bankhead Bill.")

1956: The film Checkpoint was released in Denmark.

1963: In Jordan, the Jerusalem-Dead Sea Highway opens. His Majesty King Hussein and his Government issue a Royal Decree thanking BPR's Jordan Division for its work on the project (Division Engineer John C. Sprague, Construction and Maintenance Engineer Harrison Hawkins, and Construction and Maintenance Superintendents Leon B. Hirsch and Robert L. James).

1967: Alan S. Boyd is sworn in as the first U.S. Secretary of Transportation. Judge James Durfee of the U.S. Court of Claims administers the oath in the East Room of the White House as Mrs. Boyd and President and Mrs. Johnson look on. The President says Secretary Boyd's major assignment would be to "coordinate a National Transportation Policy."

1968: General Motors filed for a U.S. design patent for the C3 Chevrolet Corvette.

1981: Secretary of Transportation Neil Goldschmidt transmits a report to Congress on the Everett Bypass demonstration project in Pennsylvania, authorized by the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1976 to demonstrate how project completion time can be reduced. The lessons learned, such as concurrent review, will be applied to other projects via the FAST initiative.