ED DANAHUE

Stephen Valentine Patrick William Allen
(December 26, 1921 – October 30, 2000)

ED DONAHUE

The Tonight Show (TV Series 1953–1957)

Stephen Valentine Patrick William Allen
(December 26, 1921 – October 30, 2000)

On July 12, 1957, Dwight D. Eisenhower (left) became the first president to ride in a helicopter.

Although experimental military helicopters had been tested since
1947, it was not until 10 years later that a president considered
using the new machine for short, official trips to and from the
White House. Eisenhower suggested the idea to the Secret
Service, which approved of the new mode of transportation,
seeing it as safer and more efficient than the traditional
limousine motorcade.

 
The Bell H-13J helicopter pictured on Presidents Day,2018.

On May 10, 1869, the presidents of the Union Pacific and Central
Pacific railroads met in Promontory, Utah, and drive a ceremonial
last spike into a rail line that connects their railroads. This made transcontinental railroad travel possible for the first time in U.S.
history. No longer would western-bound travelers need to take
the long and dangerous journey by wagon train.

Destined to become one of the state’s major exports, the first
trainload of oranges grown by Southern California farmers left
Los Angeles via refrigerator cars of the transcontinental railroad.