Nizhny Novgorod Metro opened
The Nizhny Novgorod Metro, formerly known as the Gorky Metro, is a rapid-transit system which serves the city of Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. Opened in 1985, it consists of 15 stations and is 21.6 kilometres (13.4 mi) long. The metro connects with the City Rail and Nizhny Novgorod Central Diameters systems at the Moskovskaya station. It has the third-largest number of stations of any Russian subway system, the largest two being Moscow and St. Petersburg.
Lake Peigneur drilling disaster
A drill assembly of a Texaco-contracted oil rig pierced an inactive third level of the nearby Diamond Crystal Salt Company salt mine. The hole produced a vortex that drained the lake into the mine, filling the enormous caverns that had been left by the removal of salt. The mine, in operation since 1919, was made up of several levels up to 1,500 feet (460 m) below the surface. Each tunnel was about 100 by 80 feet (30 m × 24 m). Pillars of salt had been left in place to support the ceiling at each level. The pillars were dissolved by the encroaching fresh water and caused the mine tunnels to collapse.
Farmington Mine disaster
The Farmington Mine disaster was an explosion that happened at approximately 5:30 a.m. on November 20, 1968, at the Consol No. 9 coal mine north of Farmington and Mannington, West Virginia, United States. The explosion was large enough to be felt in Fairmont, almost 12 miles (19 km) away. At the time, 99 miners were inside. Over the course of the next few hours, 21 miners were able to escape the mine, but 78 were still trapped. All who were unable to escape perished; the bodies of 19 of the dead were never recovered. The cause of the explosion was never determined, but the accident served as the catalyst for several new laws that were passed to protect miners.
Sir John Fowler, 1st Baronet died
Sir John Fowler, 1st Baronet was an English civil engineer specialising in the construction of railways and railway infrastructure. In the 1850s and 1860s, he was engineer for the world's first underground railway, London's Metropolitan Railway, built by the "cut-and-cover" method under city streets. In the 1880s, he was chief engineer for the Forth Bridge, which opened in 1890. Fowler's was a long and eminent career, spanning most of the 19th century's railway expansion, and he was engineer, adviser or consultant to many British and foreign railway companies and governments. He was the youngest president of the Institution of Civil Engineers, between 1865 and 1867, and his major works represent a lasting legacy of Victorian engineering.
