Curated atlas · Technology

History of Aviation

The seventy-five year arc from experimental gliders to jet airliners and the Concorde — how humanity learned to fly.

76 years

3,952 blocks

27 events

7 stages

1 block = 1 week · 1 row = 52 weeks76y · 3,952 blocks

1895

1905

1915

1925

1935

1945

1955

1965

Stages

Timeline ledger

Chronicle

27 events · 7 stages

Pioneers & gliders

8y 51w

Jan 1, 1895 → Dec 15, 1903

Otto Lilienthal's fatal glider crash

Aug 4, 1896

Early powered flight

10y 34w

Dec 15, 1903 → Jul 28, 1914

Wright Brothers' first powered flight

Dec 15, 1903

Santos-Dumont flies in Paris

Oct 23, 1906

Blériot crosses the English Channel

Jul 20, 1909

WWI military aviation

4y 15w

Jul 28, 1914 → Nov 5, 1918

First aerial combat (WWI)

Sep 29, 1914

Red Baron's first victory

Sep 12, 1916

Fokker Dr.I triplane enters service

Aug 21, 1917

Golden age of aviation

20y 45w

Nov 12, 1918 → Aug 29, 1939

First non-stop Atlantic crossing

Jun 10, 1919

First scheduled international airline

May 11, 1920

Lindbergh crosses the Atlantic solo

May 17, 1927

Earhart crosses the Atlantic solo

May 17, 1932

Douglas DC-3 enters service

Jun 23, 1936

Amelia Earhart disappears

Jun 29, 1937

Spitfire enters RAF service

Aug 2, 1938

First jet aircraft flight (He 178)

Aug 22, 1939

WWII air power

5y 51w

Aug 29, 1939 → Aug 14, 1945

First practical helicopter (VS-300)

Sep 12, 1939

Battle of Britain

Jul 9, 1940

B-29 Superfortress enters service

May 2, 1944

Me 262 — first jet fighter in combat

Jul 25, 1944

Jet age & Cold War aviation

13y 22w

Aug 14, 1945 → Dec 30, 1958

Chuck Yeager breaks the sound barrier

Oct 14, 1947

Berlin Airlift begins

Jun 22, 1948

de Havilland Comet — first jet airliner

Apr 29, 1952

Boeing 707 enters service

Oct 21, 1958

Commercial & supersonic era

12y 2w

Dec 30, 1958 → Dec 29, 1970

U-2 spy plane incident

Apr 26, 1960

SR-71 Blackbird first flight

Dec 22, 1964

Boeing 747 first flight

Feb 4, 1969

Concorde maiden flight

Feb 25, 1969

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