On May 30, 1832, the Rideau Canal opened between Kingston and Ottawa, providing British forces with a safe supply route away from the US border. These days it is a summer boating attraction for locals and tourists, and designated a…

In the early days of the US Postal Service's national airmail service, pilots had to navigate across the USA by sight alone - a task that bad weather could make extremely difficult. And so a network of towers was built,…

On May 29, 1953, Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary made the first known ascent of Mount Everest, the world's tallest mountain. The question of whether a 1924 expedition succeeded will remain a mystery forever. Since then, and particularly in the…

On May 28, 1932, the (unpronounceable for those of us outside the Netherlands) Afsluitdijk opened. This 32km (20mile) dike is part of a larger flood-protection scheme. Near the mid point is a monument and viewing tower. On the inland side…

On May 27, 1937, San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge opened, with around 200,000 people walking or roller-skating across on the first day before it was opened to traffic. Close to a million people visited for the 50th anniversary celebration in…

On May 26, 1906, the new Vauxhall Bridge across the Thames in London opened. This was five years later than planned, as the process had to be delayed after somebody came to the (kind-of-important) realisation that the river bed couldn't…