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1929

Ann Arbor Baler
Society: ASABEMain Category: Agricultural & BiologicalSub Category: Equipment, Harvesting and BalingEra: 1920-1929DateCreated: 1929ShelbyvilleState: ILCountry: USAWebsite: https://www.asabe.org/awards-landmarks/asabe-historic-landmarks/ann-arbor-baler-13.aspxCreator: Raymore McDonald

Designated an Historic Landmark of Agricultural Engineering. In the Shelbyville Area During the Spring of 1929, Raymore McDonald Designed and Developed the First Commercial Pick-Up Baler as Conceived and Financed by Horace Tallman and His Sons, Leslie R. and Gentry L. These Balers were Marketed for Many Years by the Ann Arbor Machine Company of Shelbyville. This Concept of Field Processing of Farm Forages Made a Significant Contribution to the Efficiency and Economy of Mechanized Forage Harvesting in the World's Agriculture.

Image Credit: Courtesy Flickr/Wystan (CC BY 2.0)Image Caption: 1904 advertisement for the Ann Arbor
“Slanted oil wells are the latest sensation of the oil industry,” reports May 1934 Popular Science Monthly article.
Society: SPEMain Category: PetroleumSub Category: ExtractionEra: 1920-1929DateCreated: 1929ConroeState: TXCountry: USAWebsite: http://www.spe.org/industry/history/timeline.phpCreator: Eastman, H. John

H. John Eastman introduces controlled directional drilling in 1929 and was awarded a patent the following year.

The technique became widely adopted after an oil strike in Conroe, Texas, caught fire in January 1933. The well exploded, creating a 600-foot deep crater, and the oil burned for months. Although the fire was eventually put out,  oil continued to flow into the “lake.” The only way to manage this was to drill another well to relieve the pressure.

Image Credit: American Oil & Gas Historical SocietyImage Caption: “Slanted oil wells are the latest sensation of the oil industry,” reports May 1934 Popular Science Monthly article. “Drilled by experts who use special tools and secret methods to send the bit burrowing into the ground at strange angles, they are finding amazing new applications.”
Texas Commerce Bank Building
Society: ASCEMain Category: CivilSub Category: BuildingsEra: 1920-1929DateCreated: 1929JP Morgan Chase BuildingHoustonState: TXZip: 77002Country: USAWebsite: http://www.asce.org/project/texas-commerce-bank-building/Creator: Simpson, William E.

The tower was designed to rest on a continuous reinforced concrete mat, 4 feet thick, with the base of the slab 24 feet below street level.

What makes the Texas Commerce Bank Building revolutionary in the civil engineering world is not so much the building itself, but its foundation.  Initial studies for the type of foundation to be used began in the fall of 1927.  William E. Simpson, the building's chief structural engineer, suggested using a mat foundation, something new for Houston's multistory buildings.

YearAdded:
1997
Image Credit: Courtesy Wikipedia/Reagan Rothenberger Image Caption: The Texas Commerce Bank Building, now called the JP Morgan Chase Building, had a reinforced concrete mat foundation that was revolutionary at the time.Era_date_from: 1929
Navajo Bridge
Society: ASCEMain Category: CivilSub Category: BridgesEra: 1920-1929DateCreated: 1929Marble CanyonPageState: AZZip: 86036Country: USAWebsite: http://www.asce.org/Project/Navajo-Bridge/Creator: Arizona Highway Department

Navajo Bridge spans Marble Canyon, 470 feet above the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park. It was considered the highest steel arch bridge in America when completed.

The Navajo Bridge (also known as the Grand Canyon Bridge) was built in 1929 by the Arizona Highway Department and provided a vital transportation link over the Grand Canyon between northern Arizona and southern Utah. Construction commenced by building on one side of the canyon, then on the other, until the two sides met in the middle.

YearAdded:
1997
Image Credit: Courtesy Flickr/Frank Kovalchek (CC BY 2.0)Image Caption: Navajo BridgeEra_date_from: 1929
Society: ASMEMain Category: Mechanical, ElectricSub Category: WaterEra: 1920-1929DateCreated: 1929Metropolitan Edison Power Co.MuhlenbergState: PAZip: 19605Country: USAWebsite: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-a-l/electric-power-production-water/-57-kaplan-turbine-%281929%29Creator: Kaplan, Viktor
This Kaplan turbine is one of the first three machines to be put into service in the United States. Named for its Austrian inventor, Viktor Kaplan (1876-1934), the turbine was an outstanding innovation, operating with a high, nearly constant efficiency over a wide load range. The machine was built by S. Morgan Smith Company of York, Pennsylvania.
YearAdded:
1980
Image Credit: Public Domain (United States Arm0Image Caption: Kaplan TurbineEra_date_from: 1929
Goodyear Airdock
Society: ASCEMain Category: Aerospace & AviationSub Category: AviationEra: 1920-1929DateCreated: 1929 Fulton International Airport (AKC)AkronState: OHZip: 44306Country: USAWebsite: http://www.asce.org/Project/Goodyear-Airdock/Creator: Arnstein, Karl , Wilbur Watson Engineering Company

Wind dynamics were a major consideration in building such a huge structure. When winds blow against the building, they are deflected up over the roof, creating a partial vacuum that can draw the roof up with a force several times greater than the direct force of the wind. Wind tunnel testing on a model helped designers decide that a semi-parabolic shape would best resolve air current concerns.

YearAdded:
1980
Image Credit: Public Domain (National Park Service)Image Caption: Goodyear AirdockEra_date_from: 1929
Production of the Vultee Vengeance bombers for the Royal Air Force at Downey, California
Society: AIAAMain Category: Aerospace & AviationSub Category: AviationEra: 1920-1929DateCreated: 192912214 Lakewood BoulevardDowneyState: CACountry: USAWebsite: https://www.aiaa.org/HistoricAerospaceSites/Creator: Emsco Aircraft Corporation

Established in 1929, and owned by several different aviation companies through its history, the Downey site was the design, test, and production site for various airplanes and spacecraft that defined American aerospace accomplishments in the 20th century.

YearAdded:
2010
Image Caption: Production of the Vultee Vengeance bombers for the Royal Air Force at Downey, California, 1942Era_date_from: 1929
Rocky River Pumped-storage Hydroelectric Plant
Society: ASMEMain Category: Electric, MechanicalSub Category: WaterEra: 1920-1929DateCreated: 1929Rocky River StationHartfordState: CTZip: 06101Country: USAWebsite: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-a-l/electric-power-production-water/-56-rocky-river-pumped-storage-hydroelectric-plant, https://www.asme.org/getmedia/1b393410-996b-4172-b5b7-628efc383e7d/56-Rocky-River-Hydroelectric-Station.aspxCreator: Connecticut Light & Power Company

The Connecticut Light & Power Company pioneered the use of pumped storage in the United States at this hydroelectric station. First operated in 1929, the Rocky River Plant had two reversible pumps that somewhat resemble large hydroelectric turbines. This permitted significant improvements in the system efficiency of the company's network of hydroelectric and thermal-electric power generating plants. Water is pumped uphill through a penstock and stored in Lake Candlewood.

YearAdded:
1980
Image Credit: Courtesy ASMEImage Caption: Rocky River Pumped-storage Hydroelectric PlantEra_date_from: 1929
Carbohydrate Metabolism - Carl and Gerty Cori
Society: ACSMain Category: ChemicalSub Category: MedicalEra: 1920-1929DateCreated: 1929Washington University School of MedicineSt. LouisState: MOCountry: USAWebsite: https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/carbohydratemetabolism.html, https://www.acs.org/content/dam/acsorg/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/carbohydratemetabolism/carl-and-gerty-cori-and-carbohydrate-metabolism-commemorative-booklet.pdfCreator: Cori, Carl, Cori, Gerty

In brilliant collaboration, Carl and Gerty Cori studied how the body metabolizes glucose and advanced the understanding of how the body produces and stores energy. Their findings were particularly useful in the development of treatments for diabetes. In 1947 the Coris shared a Nobel Prize for their discoveries.

 

The plaque commemorating the event reads:

Image Caption: Biochemist Gerty Theresa Radnitz Cori (1896-1957) and her husband Carl Ferdinand Cori (1896-1984) were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in medicine in 1947 for their work on how the human body metabolizes sugar.
Subscribe to 1929

Innovations

Carbohydrate Metabolism - Carl and Gerty Cori

In brilliant collaboration, Carl and Gerty Cori studied how the body metabolizes glucose and advanced the understanding of how the body produces and stores energy. Their findings were particularly useful in the development of treatments for diabetes. In 1947 the Coris shared a Nobel Prize for…

Read More
Rocky River Pumped-storage Hydroelectric Plant

The Connecticut Light & Power Company pioneered the use of pumped storage in the United States at this hydroelectric station. First operated in 1929, the Rocky River Plant had two reversible pumps that somewhat resemble large hydroelectric turbines. This permitted significant improvements in…

Read More
Production of the Vultee Vengeance bombers for the Royal Air Force at Downey, California

Established in 1929, and owned by several different aviation companies through its history, the Downey site was the design, test, and production site for various airplanes and spacecraft that defined American aerospace accomplishments in the 20th century. Its rich legacy includes the P-51…

Read More
Goodyear Airdock

Wind dynamics were a major consideration in building such a huge structure. When winds blow against the building, they are deflected up over the roof, creating a partial vacuum that can draw the roof up with a force several times greater than the direct force of the wind. Wind tunnel testing on…

Read More
This Kaplan turbine is one of the first three machines to be put into service in the United States. Named for its Austrian inventor, Viktor Kaplan (1876-1934), the turbine was an outstanding innovation, operating with a high, nearly constant efficiency over a wide load range. The machine was built… Read More
Navajo Bridge

Navajo Bridge spans Marble Canyon, 470 feet above the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park. It was considered the highest steel arch bridge in America when completed.

The Navajo Bridge (also known as the Grand Canyon Bridge) was built in 1929 by the Arizona Highway Department and…

Read More
Texas Commerce Bank Building

The tower was designed to rest on a continuous reinforced concrete mat, 4 feet thick, with the base of the slab 24 feet below street level.

What makes the Texas Commerce Bank Building revolutionary in the civil engineering world is not so much the building itself, but its foundation. …

Read More
“Slanted oil wells are the latest sensation of the oil industry,” reports May 1934 Popular Science Monthly article.

H. John Eastman introduces controlled directional drilling in 1929 and was awarded a patent the following year.

The technique became widely adopted after an oil strike in Conroe, Texas, caught fire in January 1933. The well exploded, creating a 600-foot deep crater, and the oil burned…

Read More
Ann Arbor Baler

Designated an Historic Landmark of Agricultural Engineering. In the Shelbyville Area During the Spring of 1929, Raymore McDonald Designed and Developed the First Commercial Pick-Up Baler as Conceived and Financed by Horace Tallman and His Sons, Leslie R. and Gentry L. These Balers were…

Read More

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