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UC-Blackwelder Tomato Harvester
Society: ASABEMain Category: Agricultural & BiologicalEra: 1950-1959DateCreated: 1949Western Center for Agricultural EquipmentDavisState: CAZip: 95616Country: USAWebsite: https://www.asabe.org/awards-landmarks/asabe-historic-landmarks/uc-blackwelder-tomato-harvester-45.aspxCreator: Hanna, Jack

In 1942, University of California, Davis (UCD) biologist, Jack Hanna recognized the need for breeding tomato varieties that ripen uniformly and withstand the rigors of mechanical harvesting. In 1949, UCD agricultural engineer Coby Lorenzen and Hanna began developing a mechanical tomato harvester. Parallel efforts by others, notably those started in 1957 by agricultural engineer Bill Stout and horticulturist Stan Ries of Michigan State University, eventually resulted in several different harvesting mechanisms. In the late 1950s, UCD agricultural engineer Steven J.

YearAdded:
2005
Rain Bird Impact Drive Sprinkler Head
Society: ASABEMain Category: Agricultural & BiologicalEra: 1930-1939DateCreated: 1933Rain Bird corporate officeAzusaState: CAZip: 91702Country: USAWebsite: https://www.asabe.org/awards-landmarks/asabe-historic-landmarks/rain-bird-sprinkler-head-24.aspxCreator: Englehardt, Orton

The Rain Bird horizontal action impact drive sprinkler head was invented in 1933 by Orton Englehardt, a citrus grower and native of Glendora. The design offered slow rotation and uniform watering, benefits long sought by local irrigators. Clement M. LaFetra, a friend of Englehardt, urged early patent application. A patent was awarded on December 18, 1933. Englehardt, with no entrepreneurial aspirations, assigned all rights to LaFetra and his wife Mary Elizabeth. Production began in the LaFetra family barn on October 13, 1935.

YearAdded:
1990
Holt Track-Type Tractor
Society: ASABEMain Category: Agricultural & BiologicalSub Category: VehiclesEra: 1900sDateCreated: 1904Haggin MuseumaStocktonState: CAZip: 95203Country: USAWebsite: https://www.asabe.org/awards-landmarks/asabe-historic-landmarks/holt-tractor-16.aspxCreator: Holt, Benjamin
YearAdded:
1982
Image Credit: Public domainImage Caption: The second prototype of a track-type tractor built by the Holt Machinery Company of Stockton, California in 1905.
Holt Brothers Combine
Society: ASABEMain Category: Agricultural & BiologicalEra: 1880-1889DateCreated: 1891Haggin MuseumStocktonState: CAZip: 95203Country: USAWebsite: https://www.asabe.org/awards-landmarks/asabe-historic-landmarks/holt-brothers-17.aspx

The Sidehill Combine Developed By The Holt Brothers At Stockton, California In 1891, A Significant Milestone In Grain Harvesting And Agricultural Efficiency That Opened New Land For Wheat Farming, Is Designated A Historic Landmark Of Agricultural Engineering By The American Society Of Agricultural Engineers 1982

YearAdded:
1982
FMC Sterilizer
Society: ASABEMain Category: Agricultural & BiologicalSub Category: Food ProcessingEra: 1920-1929DateCreated: 1920FPSD manufacturing plantMaderaState: CACountry: USAWebsite: https://www.asabe.org/awards-landmarks/asabe-historic-landmarks/fmc-sterilizer-27.aspxCreator: Thompson, Albert R.

The Food Canning Industry Was Revolutionized In 1920, When The Continuous Rotary Pressure Sterilizer Was Introduced By Albert R. Thompson. Thompson Was Chief Engineer For The Anderson-Barngrover Co. Of San Jose, California, Now The FMC Corporation. The Sterilizer Cooked Canned Products Uniformly Under Pressure For Short Period At High Temperatures, Then Quickly Cooled Them Under Pressure To Prevent Swelling Or Bursting. It Operated Continuously At Speeds Of Up To 400 Cans Per Minute.

YearAdded:
1992
Image Caption: The FMC Rotary Pressure Sterilizer
First Self-Propelled Combine
Society: ASABEMain Category: Agricultural & BiologicalSub Category: MechanizationEra: 1880sDateCreated: 1886Tulare County MuseumVisaliaState: CAZip: 93277Country: USAWebsite: https://www.asabe.org/awards-landmarks/asabe-historic-landmarks/first-self-propelled-combine-49.aspxCreator: Berry, George Stockton

George Stockton Berry (1847-1917) of Lindsay, Tulare County, California designed, built, and in 1886, operated the first self-propelled combine. He was granted a U.S. Patent (# 374,339) in1887. The Berry design embodied the following "firsts":

YearAdded:
2007
Naval Air Station North Island
Society: AIAAMain Category: Aerospace & AviationSub Category: Air and Space TransportationEra: 1910-1919DateCreated: 1917Naval Air Station North IslandSan DiegoState: CACountry: USAWebsite: https://info.aiaa.org/tac/ETMG/HISTC/Shared%20Documents/Historic%20Aerospace%20Sites%20(HAS)/Procedures%20and%20templates/HAS%20blurb.docCreator: U.S. Navy

Known as the birthplace of Naval Aviation, North Island was the site of the first successful seaplane flight and the first amphibious flight in the U.S., both made by Glenn Curtiss.  The first Naval pilot, Lt. T.G. Ellyson, was trained here at the Curtiss Aviation Camp.  A flight school established here by Ellyson trained the next Naval aviators as well as the Navy’s first aviation maintenance personnel.  North Island was also the site of the first night flight, and the home of the first aircraft carrier, the USS Langley.

YearAdded:
2002
Image Caption: USS George Washington and USS Ronald Reagan pierside at Naval Air Station North Island
The instrument panel of the Spirit of St. Louis
Society: AIAAMain Category: Aerospace & AviationSub Category: Frontiers of KnowledgeEra: 1920sDateCreated: 1920-19272701 Midway DrSan DiegoState: CACountry: USAWebsite: https://info.aiaa.org/tac/ETMG/HISTC/Shared%20Documents/01-0304%20Dutch%20Flats%20bro.pdfCreator: Ryan, Claude, Lindbergh, Charles

On this site, which was the Dutch Flats Airport, Charles A. Lindbergh made the first flight of his Spirit of St. Louis airplane, constructed in 60 days by dedicated employees of Ryan Airlines, Inc.  The 20-minute flight on 28 April 1927 was witnessed by those who built the aircraft. Lindbergh describes the flight:

YearAdded:
2000
Image Caption: The instrument panel of the Spirit of St. Louis
Rocketdyne's_test_stand_for_testing_the_J-2_engine_in_Santa_Susana_Mountains
Society: AIAAMain Category: Aerospace & AviationSub Category: AerospaceEra: 1950sDateCreated: 1947Santa Susana Field LaboratoryBrandeisState: CACountry: USAWebsite: https://www.aiaa.org/HistoricAerospaceSites/

On 15 November 1950, the SSFL conducted its first official test with a Rocketdyne-designed XLR43-NA-1 large liquid propellant rocket engine, which later became the Redstone engine.  Encompassing 2558 acres, 18 large static test stands, 5 component test laboratories and an advanced test facility, the SSFL and its dedicated employees have provided significant contributions to U.S. rocketry and space programs for over 50 years.

YearAdded:
2001
Image Caption: Rocketdyne's test stand for testing the J-2 engine in Santa Susana Mountains, 1963
Oakland Airport Modern Aerial View
Society: AIAAMain Category: Aerospace & AviationSub Category: Air and Space TransportationEra: 1920-1929DateCreated: 19251 Airport DrOaklandState: CACountry: USAWebsite: https://info.aiaa.org/tac/ETMG/HISTC/Shared%20Documents/Historic%20Aerospace%20Sites%20(HAS)/Procedures%20and%20templates/Sites-by-state-plaque-wording.doc

This site, formerly known as Oakland Municipal Airport, served as the gateway to the Pacific during aviation’s pioneering age of trans-Pacific flight. Among other notable events, Albert Hegenberger and Lester Maitland departed from the airfield on 28 June 1927 on the first flight from the mainland to Hawaii, and Amelia Earhart landed here on 13 January 1935, completing the first-ever solo flight from Hawaii to the mainland.

YearAdded:
2002
Image Caption: Modern Oakland Municipal Airport aerial view
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Innovations

First Successful Commercialization of Radiation Chemistry

Founded in 1957, Raychem Corporation was the first company to successfully apply the new science of radiation chemistry to commercial use. This accomplishment led to the creation of tough new materials and high-performance products such as irradiated polyethylene insulated wire and heat-…

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Bidwell Bar Suspension Bridge

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Blimp Hangars

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Bridgeport Covered Bridge

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Colorado River Aqueduct

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

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The F&CH Cable Railway, which opened in 1887, was designed and built by civil engineer Howard C. Holmes (1852-1921). The line is an amalgamation of the Powell Street Railway and the Park and Cliff House Railway. It was one of the most complicated cable-car systems to run from a single station… Read More
Folsom Powerhouse on the American River, at Folsom Powerhouse State Historic Park, California, USA

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Fresno Scraper

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James Porteous, a…

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Gilman Hall

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Golden Gate Bridge

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Holt Caterpillar Tractor

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Sweetwater Dam

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"At 10:30 p.m., 29 October 1969, the first ARPANET message was sent from this UCLA site to the Stanford Research Institute. Based on packet switching and dynamic resource allocation, the sharing of information digitally from this first node of ARPANET launched the Internet revolution." (The plaque… Read More

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