Industrial/Military Technology

The Core Historical Literature of Agriculture (CHLA) site covers an enormous range of agricultural literature dating from the middle of the nineteenth century. The library suggests that the history of the United States can not be understood without attention to American rural and agricultural life. Thus the site acts as a virtual companion to a compilation of 4500 key documentary texts that have been identified and evaluated by a team of historians. The CHLA boasts over 1500 of these books and journals available online. Facsimiles of these works are provided in PDF format. The collection is searchable, or a researcher can browse the holdings by title or by author.

John Phillip Holland was a Irish born teacher who designed and built the first a series of submarines, several of which were purchased and used by various nations in warfare around the turn of the twentieth century. Holland also developed the U.S. Navy's first modern submarine and become known as the Father of the U.S. Submarine Service. This site is basic with a little navigation, but links within the text point visitors to several alternate sites concerning Holland and his submarines, several of which include images, drawings, and primary source materials from newspapers, correspondence, etc.

This site chronicles the history of the city of Pittsburg. The site includes a timeline that offers a general overview with brief entries, but the researcher who wants in-depth information can head to the collection of more than 500 full-text books, thousands of images, and hundreds of maps available on the site. The books and images are searchable and the maps are indexed with lists of important landmarks linked to their location on each map. Census records are also available for the mid-nineteenth century.

This site chronicles how Charles Dow devised the now famous Dow Jones stock averages, and how they developed from 1884 to 1995. Besides terminology that may sometimes leave the uninitiated scratching their heads, this site is a good starting point for understanding the history and function of today's stock exchanges. The short and rather basic story of Charles Dow's average is supplemented through links to information such as lists of companies tracked by each of the Dow Jones averages, an explanation of the OTC market and Nasdaq, and listing standards for the New York Stock Exchange. A table also lists historical records for the NYSE. The navigation within the site is not facilitated by tabs, a side bar, or search tool, but the site is small enough to navigate easily.

This site is truly extensive, covering the history of commercial aviation throughout the world. The site gives brief histories of the beginnings and development of airlines in the United Kingdom, America, and Europe. For those interested in airlines in other parts of the world, the contents also include an exhaustive list of profiles of current and past airlines listed alphabetically, from ABA_Swedish Airlines to ZONDA-Zonas Oeste y Norte de Aerolineas Argentinas. There is also an index of airliners from 1910 with images and stats, and features on London's airports, planes that never made it into production, supersonic transport, and the flying boat. The navigation is simple and information is easy to find.

The Air Mail Pioneers are an organization dedicated to preserving information on the partnership between the U.S. Postal Service and the U.S. Air Service, which flew mail across the country from 1918-1927. These aviators and crewmen became some of the first commercial air workers and helped to integrate flight into the every-day life of Americans. The site displays a gallery of images, lists and bios of Air Mail Service pilots, and an informative historical essay about the Air Service. Also included on the site are early flight directions, maps, and information on the aircraft used by the Service. The site contains information on former employees in the service, which could be a valuable asset to researchers interested in oral histories. This site would be most helpful to those interested in the history of commercial flight or the U.S. Postal Service.

This site, dedicated to the history of a Turkish aircraft industry, gives a summarized version of the material available in a book by the site's author, an aviation enthusiast who was born in Turkey and grew up in Germany. The site has a very basic design and the navigation is difficult because the pages are labled in many cases by Turkish names and acronyms that are not readily understandable by an english-speaking audiance. Also, each page is not cross-linked, so viewers will have to back-click to the first page before continueing to each following section. But despite the navigational difficulties, the site does offer some interesting information about the Turkish government's interest in aircraft and the partnerships between Turkish groups and foreign manufacturers. The site includes tables that list aircraft licenced for production in Turkey, the years of production, and the actual numbers produced. There are also a few images.

Hanger One is the homepage for a not-for-profit foundation dedicated to the commemoration of the Naval Air Station Glenview and the community of people who lived and worked there. The site acts partially as a newsletter and fundraising device, but historians will also find an historical essay and many images. As a foundation site, Hanger One can also be an useful portal to a large number of potential interviewees for those interested in oral history accounts of military and aviation communities. The site can also offer information about how military bases became hubs of community involvement and it can demonstrate reactions to the withdrawal military investment.

This page, one of many articles on the "War Times Journal" website, tells the story of the impromptu bridges built over the Berezina River by retreating French forces in 1812. Though author James Burbeck does not adequately contextualize the incident within the Napoleonic Wars, his article provides a detailed description of the construction and the events that followed. The site also includes a computer simulation of the footbridge, a painting of French troops and families crossing the river, a map of the region, a copy of a letter from a French Major General to Éblé, and a brief list of recommended reading.

This page is part of a tome of photographs, technical descriptions, and stories about the World War II escapades of the 150th Combat Engineer Battalion. Each bridge that the group constructed during the war has its own section, along with numerous images of the structures. Though some photos are on loan or have been taken in recent years, the vast majority come from the site founder's father, who served as the battalion's electrician, scout, and photographer until the war's end. In response to requests for information on lost family members, the webmaster has also posted links to and information about resources for military families, as well as logistical information about 150th battalion reunions.