1949 initial flight of the de havilland comet the first jet powe 07 27
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1949 77 years ago Historical Events July 27

Initial flight of the de Havilland Comet, the first jet-powered airliner.

On July 27, in the year 1949, Initial flight of the de Havilland Comet, the first jet-powered airliner. This event is recorded as a Historical Events event in the history of July 27, one of 452 recorded events on this date across all of history.

The de Havilland DH.106 Comet is a four-engine narrow body aircraft developed and manufactured by de Havilland in the United Kingdom. The world's first commercial jet airliner, the Comet 1 prototype first flew in 1949. It features an aerodynamically clean design with four de Havilland Ghost turbojet engines located in the wing roots, a pressurised cabin, and large windows. For the era, it offered a relatively quiet, comfortable passenger cabin and was commercially promising at its debut in 1952.

Key Facts

  • This event took place on July 27, 1949 (AD era).
  • It is categorised as a Historical Events event in recorded history.
  • Referenced in 1 Wikipedia article.
  • Wikipedia source last updated on 11 July 2026.

On This Date in History 452

Type Year Date Event
Notable Deaths 2024 Jul 27 Edna O'Brien, Irish novelist, playwright, poet and short story writer (born 1930)
Notable Deaths 2024 Jul 27 Pavel Kushnir, Russian pianist, writer, activist and political prisoner (born 1984)
Notable Deaths 2022 Jul 27 Tony Dow, American actor, film producer, director, and sculptor (born 1945)
Selected Events 2020 Jul 27 A major oil spill from the Colonial Pipeline was discovered in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina (system map pictured).
Notable Deaths 2018 Jul 27 Marco Aurelio Denegri, Peruvian literature critic, television host and sexologist
Notable Deaths 2017 Jul 27 Sam Shepard, American playwright, actor, author, screenwriter, and director (born 1943)
Notable Deaths 2016 Jul 27 Einojuhani Rautavaara, Finnish composer (born 1928)
Notable Deaths 2016 Jul 27 James Alan McPherson, American short story writer and essayist (born 1943)
Notable Deaths 2016 Jul 27 Jerry Doyle, American actor and talk show host (born 1956)
Notable Deaths 2016 Jul 27 Piet de Jong, Dutch politician and naval officer, Minister of Defence, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (born 1915)
Selected Events 2016 Jul 27 The last nine Aston Martin DB9 units rolled off the production line, marking the end of a twelve-year manufacturing…
Historical Events 2015 Jul 27 Seven people are killed and many injured after gunmen attack an Indian police station in Punjab.
Notable Deaths 2015 Jul 27 Rickey Grundy, American singer-songwriter (born 1959)
Notable Deaths 2015 Jul 27 A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, Indian engineer, academic, and politician, 11th President of India (born 1931)
Notable Deaths 2015 Jul 27 Samuel Pisar, Polish-born American lawyer and author (born 1929)
Notable Deaths 2015 Jul 27 Anthony Shaw, English general (born 1930)
Notable Deaths 2014 Jul 27 Richard Bolt, New Zealand air marshal and pilot (born 1923)
Notable Deaths 2014 Jul 27 George Freese, American baseball player and coach (born 1926)
Notable Deaths 2014 Jul 27 Wallace Jones, American basketball player and coach (born 1926)
Notable Deaths 2014 Jul 27 Francesco Marchisano, Italian cardinal (born 1929)
Notable Deaths 2014 Jul 27 Paul Schell, American lawyer and politician, 50th Mayor of Seattle (born 1937)
Notable Deaths 2013 Jul 27 Fernando Alonso, Cuban dancer, co-founded the Cuban National Ballet (born 1914)
Notable Deaths 2013 Jul 27 Lindy Boggs, American politician and diplomat, 5th United States Ambassador to the Holy See (born 1916)
Notable Deaths 2013 Jul 27 Bud Day, American colonel and pilot, Medal of Honor recipient (born 1925)
Notable Deaths 2013 Jul 27 Kidd Kraddick, American radio host (born 1959)
Notable Deaths 2013 Jul 27 Ilya Segalovich, Russian businessman, co-founded Yandex (born 1964)
Notable Deaths 2012 Jul 27 Norman Alden, American actor (born 1924)
Notable Deaths 2012 Jul 27 R. G. Armstrong, American actor and playwright (born 1917)
Notable Deaths 2012 Jul 27 Darryl Cotton, Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (born 1949)
Notable Deaths 2012 Jul 27 Geoffrey Hughes, English actor (born 1944)
Notable Deaths 2012 Jul 27 Tony Martin, American actor and singer (born 1913)
Notable Deaths 2012 Jul 27 Jack Taylor, English footballer and referee (born 1930)
Notable Deaths 2010 Jul 27 Maury Chaykin, American-Canadian actor (born 1949)
Notable Deaths 2010 Jul 27 Jack Tatum, American football player (born 1948)
Selected Events 2010 Jul 27 Police in Tokyo found the mummified remains of Sogen Kato, thought to have died in 1978, leading to widespread…
Notable Deaths 2008 Jul 27 Youssef Chahine, Egyptian director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1926)
Notable Deaths 2008 Jul 27 Horst Stein, German-born Swiss conductor (born 1928)
Notable Deaths 2008 Jul 27 Isaac Saba Raffoul, Mexican businessman (born 1923)
Notable Deaths 2007 Jul 27 James Oyebola, Nigerian-English boxer (born 1961)
Selected Events 2007 Jul 27 While covering a police pursuit in Phoenix, Arizona, two news helicopters collided in mid-air, killing both crews.
Notable Deaths 2006 Jul 27 Maryann Mahaffey, American academic and politician (born 1925)
Notable Deaths 2005 Jul 27 Al Held, American painter and academic (born 1928)
Notable Deaths 2005 Jul 27 Marten Toonder, Dutch author and illustrator (born 1912)
Notable Births 2003 Jul 27 Elvina Kalieva, American tennis player
Notable Deaths 2003 Jul 27 Vance Hartke, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician (born 1919)
Notable Deaths 2003 Jul 27 Bob Hope, English-American actor, comedian, television personality, and businessman (born 1903)
Historical Events 2002 Jul 27 Ukraine airshow disaster: A Sukhoi Su-27 fighter crashes during an air show at Lviv, Ukraine killing 77 and injuring…
Notable Births 2001 Jul 27 Miguel Gutiérrez, Spanish footballer
Notable Deaths 2001 Jul 27 Rhonda Sing, Canadian wrestler (born 1961)
Notable Deaths 2001 Jul 27 Leon Wilkeson, American bass player and songwriter (born 1952)

This article draws on content from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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