Ars Technica:

On October 14, 1947, high above California’s Antelope Valley, Charles “Chuck” Yeager became the fastest man alive. That day Yeager—an Appalachian farm boy-turned-fighter ace—flew an experimental rocket plane called the Bell X-1 through the sound barrier and into the history books. Fifty years and one day later (and only about 500 miles due north), another fighter pilot—RAF Wing Commander Andy Green—equaled Yeager’s feat but on four wheels. Thrust SSC was the name of his ride, and it made Green the fastest man on Earth. It’s a title he still holds.

But 65 years to the day after Yeager’s supersonic flight, an Austrian skydiver named Felix Baumgartner got his own entry into the record books. Baumgartner rode a helium balloon from Roswell, New Mexico, (yes, that Roswell) 128,100 feet (39,045m) into the atmosphere and then stepped out of its gondola, breaking the sound barrier with nothing more than a pressure suit and the laws of gravity. Luckily for Green, Baumgartner became the fastest man en route to Earth.

All three of these historic supersonic firsts happened on (or about) October 14.

The speed of sound is one of those record marks that capture the imagination, even though it was first broken more than 60 years ago. No matter the conveyance, we are still fascinated whenever someone breaks the sound barrier.