October 15

Events - Transportation & Infrastructure

1939day.year

The New York Municipal Airport (later renamed LaGuardia Airport) is dedicated.

In 1939, New York's Municipal Airport, later known as LaGuardia Airport, was dedicated as a major public air transport hub.
On October 15, 1939, New York Municipal Airport officially opened to handle the city's increasing air traffic. Conceived to serve commercial and general aviation, it was part of New Deal infrastructure projects aimed at modernizing urban transit. Designed by architect Edward Durell Stone, the airport featured Art Deco terminals and cutting-edge facilities. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Mayor Fiorello La Guardia attended the dedication ceremony, which drew crowds eager to glimpse the future of travel. Renamed LaGuardia Airport in 1947, it has since become one of the busiest airports in the United States. The dedication marked a pivotal moment in the expansion of America's commercial aviation network.
1939 LaGuardia Airport
1970day.year

During the construction of Australia's West Gate Bridge, a span of the bridge falls and kills 35 workers. The incident is the country's worst industrial accident to this day.

A tragic construction accident claims 35 lives when a span of Melbourne’s West Gate Bridge collapses.
During construction of the West Gate Bridge in Melbourne, a span collapsed, killing 35 workers in one of Australia's worst industrial disasters. The bridge, intended to span the Yarra River, suffered a catastrophic structural failure as a cantilevered section fell. Rescue efforts revealed extensive design and communication flaws in the project’s engineering processes. The tragedy prompted a Royal Commission, which led to stricter safety regulations and oversight in construction. Even today, the collapse is remembered as a pivotal moment in Australian occupational health and safety history.
1970 West Gate Bridge