March 23: Craig Breedlove, the first man to drive a car 600 mph, was born on this date in 1937
Today, March 23, we wish a very happy 75th birthday to Craig Breedlove, the five-time land speed record holder and first man ever to achieve terrestrial velocities of 400, 500, and 600 mph. The above photo, from products4industry's Flickr photostream, depicts Breedlove standing in front of Spirit of America, the turbojet-powered vehicle he drove 526.28 mph in 1965 (and which inspired the Beach Boys song of the same name). For a real blast from the past, check out Breedlove's subsequent appearance on the television program "What's My Line?" in the video below:
And here's some footage of one of his earlier record-breaking runs in 1963: