Illinois became the first US state to make it compulsory by law to wear a seatbelt.
The first Chevrolet Corvette was manufactured in the US.
The Chevrolet Corvette sports car was presented for the first time at GM Motorama Auto Show in New York.
The jet age begins with the first scheduled flight of the De Havilland Comet 1.
The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress bomber successfully completed its first flight.
Ferrari secured its first Grand Prix victory at the 1951 British Grand Prix.
The Talyllyn Railway in Wales became the first railway line in the world to be run solely by volunteers.
Volkswagen's iconic Type 2 Kombi first began production.
The Boeing B-47 Stratojet Strategic bomber plane made its first flight.
US Air Force Captain Chuck Yeager became the first-ever person to break the speed of sound, flying the Bell X-1 at 662 miles per hour.
Swedish company Saab, previously known for making aircraft, produced their first automobile.
Car engineer Henry Ford died at the age of 83.
Cathay Pacific Airways, Hong Kong's flagship airline, was founded.
Shareholders of The Swallow Sidecar Company agreed to change its company name to Jaguar Cars Limited.
Alaska Airlines started operating.
Future Pope John Paul II was almost killed by a Nazi truck in Krakow, Poland.
Industrialist Henry Ford's method to construct auto bodies from plastic was patented.
Pioneering English pilot Amy Johnson went missing after bailing out of her plane over the Thames River.
California's first freeway, Arroyo Seco Parkway, officially opened to traffic.
The Blitz bombing of London's Balham Tube Station was bombed, killing over 60 people.
Igor Sikorsky pilots his VS-300 helicopter's maiden flight.
The Vought-Sikorsky VS-300 became the first successful helicopter to fly.
The world's first jet-powered aircraft, the Heinkel He 178, completed its first flight.
The world's first scheduled transatlantic flight takes off.
Aviator Howard Hughes started his around-the-world flight.
The world's fastest steam locomotive is built.
Toyota Motor Corporation was founded after operating as a division of Toyoda Automatic Looms for six years.
American aviator Amelia Earhart disappeared.
The German automobile manufacturer, Volkswagen, was founded.
The Hindenburg zeppelin caught fire and was destroyed while attempting to dock in New Jersey.
The first aircraft jet engine is successfully tested.
Adolf Hitler announced the construction of the Volkswagen Beetle.
Howard Hughes designed and built the world's fastest plane called the H-1 racer, then, on this day, flew it at a new world speed record at 352 miles per hour in Santa Fe, California.
Sir Malcolm Campbell broke the world record speed exceeding 300 mph on the Bonneville Flats, Utah, US.
Oklahoma City, USA, installed the world's first parking meter.
The Moscow Metro was opened to the public.
Amelia Earhart flies solo from Hawaii to the U.S. mainland.
Driving tests were introduced in the UK for the first time.
Amelia Earhart took off from Newfoundland.
Duo Wiley Post and Harold Catty started their 15,474-mile around the world flight from Long Island, New York.
Porsche was officially added to the commercial register in Germany.
Ellen Church became the first female airline stewardess aboard a Boeing Air Transport flight from San Francisco to Chicago.
Explorer Richard E. Byrd became the first person to fly over the South Pole.
The ''LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin” returned to Lakehurst, New Jersey, after being the first airship to circumference the earth in one journey.
The first non-stop flight from America to Asia took place.
American pioneer aviator Noel Wien founded Alaska's first airline, Wien Alaska Airlines Inc.
Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic.
Charles Kingsford Smith completes the world's first trans-Pacific flight.
The first flight from the West Coast to Hawaii was made by the US Army aircraft, The Bird of Paradise.
The last Ford Model T motor car was ceremoniously rolled off the assembly line.
