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On This Day in Automotive History: July 18

On This Day in Automotive History
July 18

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Birthdays: C.A. Englebeck (1876), A. Dan Cain (1893), E.A.D. Eldridge (1897), Danny Oakes (1911), Eric Brandon (1920), Glen Wood (1925), Guy Verrier (1928), Willie Green (1943), Shirley Russell (1944), Randy Lewis (1945), Barry Lawrence (1949), John Piper (1950), Bob Williams (1950), Laurence Bristow (1952), Doug Wolcott (1960), Ross Bleustein (1962), Mike Greenwell (1963), Gary Drew (1964), Rick Hixson (1964), Todd Wohlford (1965), Kevin Campbell (1966), Mark Sinclair aka "Vin Diesel" (1967), Victor Gonzalez Jr. (1975), Chris Ward (1979), Will Hardeman (1981), Ryan Destefano (1984), Nicholas Risitano (1988), Hailie Deegan (2001), Enzo Fittipaldi (2001), Braden Langille (2001), Trent Goodrow (2003)

1934: Bureau of Public Roads issues special provisions for construction of highways and related projects under sections of the National Industrial Recovery Act and the Hayden-Cartwright Act (18 June 1934). The provisions cover such areas as employment lists; subletting; wages, hours of employment, and conditions of employment; and hand labor methods. In addition, all manufactured and unmanufactured articles, materials, and supplies must come from the United States, except that with respect to asphaltic materials, "it is impracticable to apply the above requirements."

1962: Administrator Rex Whitton sends a message to all Bureau of Public Roads employees on “Will it Promote Economic Growth?” He notes that Secretary of Commerce Luther Hodges has called promotion of economic growth the Commerce Department's most important single problem.

1969: Senator Edward M. (Ted) Kennedy left a party on Chappaquiddick island at 11:15 p.m. with Mary Jo Kopechne. He maintained his intent was to immediately take Kopechne to a ferry landing and return to Edgartown, but that he accidentally made a wrong turn onto a dirt road leading to a one-lane bridge. After his car skidded off the bridge into Poucha Pond, Kennedy swam free, and maintained he tried to rescue Kopechne from the submerged car, but he could not. Kopechne's death could have happened any time between about 11:30 p.m. Friday and 1 a.m. Saturday. Kennedy would plead guilty to a charge of leaving the scene of an accident and received a two-month suspended jail sentence. (Wikipedia)

1973: The Nebraska Department of Roads is the first State to have an approved State Highway Action Plan, meeting a new FHWA requirement designed to describe the procedures the State will use to ensure consideration of environmental values in developing highway projects. Administrator Norbert Tiemann, a former Governor of Nebraska, presents a plaque to Nebraska Director Thomas D. Doyle to mark the occasion.

1980: The soundtrack to the film Honeysuckle Rose was released, which included Willie Nelson's song “On the Road Again.”

1997: Speedway SuperAmerica LLC was formed by a merger of Ashland's SuperAmerica and Marathon's Speedway convenience store chains.

2008: Rockbottom James and the Detonators released their album Blow It Up, which included the song “Broken Down Old Ford.”

2013: Gina McCarthy took office as 13th Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.