The Birth of Trains from a New York Point of View

September 9, 2023
Join us for this eclectic examination of advances in transportation in the 19th and 20th centuries. This seminar features a review of New York City’s solution for movement of people across the rapidly expanding urban landscape-local trains that soared above and below the busy streets. This lecture will place the development and expansion of the subway system in the context of the city’s political, social, and cultural life and explore the lives of those who worked on the trains-including our speaker! We’ll then examine the development of heavier-than-air flight, exploring the Wright Brothers’ famous invention and the birth of aviation in the 20th century. This exploration of the history and the science of getting off the ground will take us from Kitty Hawk to the bustling airports of today.
TOPICS & SPEAKERS
The Birth of Trains from a New York Point of View
Fred Naiden, Professor of History Emeritus
From Sky-High Hopes to Jet-Lagged Folks: The Wright Brothers and the Takeoff of Modern Flight
Greg Seltzer, Independent Scholar
The Meaning and Impact of the Transportation Revolution
A panel discussion with our speakers