On this day in…
1896
126 years ago
William Riley founded the Riley Cycle Co Read more…
1903
119 years ago
Dr Horatio Nelson Jackson left San Francisco off on the first successful attempt to cross the US by automobile Read more…
1905
117 years ago
The first Rolls-Royce 30-hp 6-cylinder was completed Read more…
1913
109 years ago
A 10-mph speed limit was set at Hyde Park Corner, London, the world’s busiest traffic junction at the time. Read more…
1914
108 years ago
A quarter-mile track opened in Toronto, Canada with all 7,000 seats full and many more standing Read more…
1925
97 years ago
Land speed record holder Henry Segrave made the fastest climb at Shelsley Walsh on his only appearance at the famous hillclimb with a works 2 litre Grand Prix Sunbeam Read more…
1928
94 years ago
Fritz von Opel drove the rocket-car Opel Rak 2, equipped with 24 Brander powder rockets, to 143 mph (220 km/h) at the Avus Track, near Berlin before 2,000 invited spectators Read more…
1934
88 years ago
Clyde Champion Barrow and Bonnie Parker were shot to death by Texas and Louisiana state police officers as they attempted to escape apprehension in a stolen 1934 Ford V-8 near Bienville Parish, Louisiana Read more…
1941
81 years ago
The English car designer and builder who founded the Austin Motor Company, Herbert Austin KBE (74), died after a heart attack Read more…
1948
74 years ago
NASCAR staged three championship events in different locations in the US on the same day Read more…
1954
68 years ago
Lee Petty lapped the field to notch a rain-shortened win in the only appearance for NASCAR’s top series at Sharon Speedway in Hartford, Ohio, US Read more…
1962
60 years ago
Louis Hervé Coatalen (82), French automobile engineer, died Read more…
1971
51 years ago
Maserati went into liquidation Read more…
1971
51 years ago
After taking pole by more than a second, Jackie Stewart produced a dominant display to win his second Monaco Grand Prix Read more…
1979
43 years ago
Hubert van Doorne (79), founder of Van Doorne’s Aanhangwagenfabriek (Trailer factory) and of Van Doorne’s Automobielfabriek (vehicle factory) known, especially to non-Dutch speakers, as DAF, together with his brother Willem (Wim) van Doorne, died Read more…
1982
40 years ago
The Monaco Grand Prix was held, the first race following the death of Gilles Villeneuve at the Belgian Grand Prix; consequently Ferrari entered only one driver, Didier Pironi Read more…
1982
40 years ago
Don Prudhomme set an NHRA Funny Car top speed record of 250 Read more…
1986
36 years ago
A bus fell off a cliff and exploded in Antique Province, Philippines, killing 23 and injuring 15 Read more…
1988
34 years ago
The three-millionth North American Ford Escort was built at Wayne (Michigan) Assembly Plant Read more…
1989
33 years ago
Citroën launched a new flagship model, the XM Read more…
1993
29 years ago
Ayrton Senna driving a McLaren-Ford MP4/8 won the Monaco Grand Prix Read more…
2000
22 years ago
BMW Group and Ford Motor Company announced that they had signed a definitive agreement for Ford to buy the Land Rover business from BMW Read more…
2004
18 years ago
The Monaco Grand Prix (formally the LII Grand Prix de Monaco) was held at the Circuit de Monaco, contested over 77 laps Read more…
2005
17 years ago
Ernst Henne, one of the most successful German motorcycle racers, died at the age of 101 Read more…
2009
13 years ago
Jim Clark in a Lotus-Climax 25 won the Dutch Grand Prix run over 80 laps of the 2 Read more…
