Octave Chanute, a French-born engineer, became celebrated for pioneering aviation experiments on the dunes of Lake Michigan and was also an innovator for railroads. He designed wood and iron trestle bridges for some of the most challenging locations and tested maintenance treatments of railroad ties. He introduced the use of date nails hammered into the tie to indicate what year the tie was treated and when it was placed in the railroad bed. Chanute envisioned a successful flying machine as something that would abridge distance, make all parts of the globe accessible, bring people into closer relation with each other, advance civilization, and hasten an era of peace and goodwill among all people.