1850 AD - 1957
1865. Jules Verne published his novel, entitled FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON.
1883. Tsiolkovsky's FREE SPACE was published.  In this, Tsiolkovsky showed that a rocket would function in a vacuum due to Newton's Action-Reaction" laws of motion.
1895. Tsiolkovsky published a book on rocketry and space exploration which was entitled DREAMS OF THE EARTH AND THE SKY.
1901. H.G. Wells published his book, THE FIRST MEN IN THE MOON, in which a substance with anti-gravity properties launched men to the moon.
1903. Tsiolkovsky produced a work entitled EXPLORING SPACE WITH DEVICES. Within, he discussed the applications of liquid propellants.
1909. Robert Goddard, in his study of fuels, determined that liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen would serve as an efficient source of propulsion, when properly combusted.
1911. Russian Gorochof published plans for a reaction airplane which operated on crude oil and compressed air for fuel.
1914. Goddard was granted two U.S. patents for rockets using solid fuel, liquid fuel, multiple propellant charges, and multi-stage designs.
1918. November 6-7, Goddard fired several rocket devices for representatives of the U.S. Signal Corps, Air Corps, Army ordinance and other assorted guests, at the Aberdeen proving grounds.
1919. Goddard wrote, and then submitted A METHOD OF ATTAINING EXTREME ALTITUDES, to the Smithsonian Institution for publication.
1923. Herman Oberth published DIE RAKETE ZU DEN PLANETENRAUMEN (The Rocket into Interplanetary Space) in Germany, and cause much discussion about  the technology of rocket propulsion.
1924. Tsiolkovsky conceived the idea of multi-stage rockets, and discussed them for the first time in COSMIC ROCKET TRAINS.
 A Central Committee for the Study of Rocket Propulsion was established in the Soviet Union, in April.
1925. THE ATTAINABILITY OF CELESTIAL BODIES, by Walter Hohmann, described the principles involved in interplanetary flight.
1926. March 16: Robert Goddard tested the world's first successful liquid-fueled rocket, in Auburn, Massachusetts.  It attained a height of 41 feet in 2.5 seconds, and it came to rest 184 feet from the launch pad.
1927. Rocket enthusiasts in Germany formed the Society for Space Travel (VfR). Hermann Oberth was among the first several members to join.
 Die Rakete, a rocket publication, began in Germany.
1928. The first of nine volumes of an encyclopedia on interplanetary travel was published by Professor Nikolai A. Rynin, in Russia
In April, the first manned, rocket-powered, automobile was tested by Fritz von Opel, Max Valier and others, in Berlin, Germany.
 In June, the first manned flight in a rocket-powered glider was achieved. Friedrich Stamer was the pilot, and flew about one mile.  Launch was  Achieved by an elastic launch rope and a 44 pound thrust rocket, then a second rocket fired while airborne.
 Hermann Oberth began acting as consultant to Fritz Lang's FRAU IM MOND (Girl in the Moon) to build a rocket for premiere publicity.  The prototype exploded on the launch pad.
1929. Hermann Oberth published his second book about space travel, and one chapter included the idea of an electric space ship.
 On July 17, Robert Goddard launched a small 11 ft. rocket which carried a small camera, barometer and thermometer which were recovered after the flight.
 In August, many small solid-propellant rockets were attached to Junkers-33 sea- plane, and were used to achieve the first recorded jet-assisted airplane take-off.
 The movie FRAU IM MOND was released.  It created an increased interest in rocket technology in Germany.
1930. In April, The American Interplanetary Society was founded in New York City by David Lasser, G. Edward Pendray, and ten others for the purpose of promoting interest in space travel.  It was later renamed the American Rocket Society.
 December 17th marked the establishment of a rocket program Kummersdorf.  It was also decided that the Kummersdorf proving grounds would be equipped to develop military missiles.
 On December 30th, Robert Goddard fired an 11 foot liquid fueled rocket to a height of 2000 feet at a speed of 500 miles per hour.  The launch took place near Roswell New Mexico.
1931. In Austria, Friedrich Schmiedl fired the world's first mail carrying rocket.
 David Lasser's book, THE CONQUEST OF SPACE, was published in the United States.
 May 14: VfR successfully launched a liquid-fueled rocket to a height of 60 meters.
1932. Von Braun and his colleagues demonstrated a liquid-fueled rocket to the German Army.  It crashed before the parachute opened, but Von Braun was soon employed to develop liquid fueled rockets for the Army.
 On April 19th, the first Goddard rocket with gyroscopically controlled vanes was fired.  The vanes gave it automatically stabilized flight.
 In November, at Stockton N.J., the American Interplanetary Society tested a rocket design that they had adapted from VfR designs.
1933. The Soviets launched a new rocket fueled by solid and liquid fuels, which reached a height of 400 meters.  The launch took place near Moscow.
 At Stanten Island, New York, the American Interplanetary Society launched it's No. 2 rocket, and watched it attain 250 feet in altitude in 2 seconds.
1934. In December, Von Braun and his associates launched 2 A-2 rockets, both to heights of 1.5 miles.
1935. The Russians fired a liquid powered rocket that achieved a height of over eight miles.
 In March, a rocket of Robert Goddard's exceeded the speed of sound.
 In May, Goddard launched one of his gyro-controlled rockets to a height of 7500 feet, in New Mexico.
1936. Scientists from the California Institute of Technology began rocket testing near Pasadena, CA.  This marked the beginning of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
 The Smithsonian Institution printed Robert Goddard's famous report, "Liquid Propellant Rocket Development," in March.
1937. Von Braun and his team relocated to a special, purpose-built rocket testing facility at Peenemunde on the Baltic Coast of Germany.
 Russia established rocket test centers in Leningrad, Moscow and Kazan.
 Goddard watched one of his rockets fly to higher than 9,000 feet, on March 27. This was the highest altitude attained by any of the Goddard Rockets.
1938. Robert Goddard began to develop high speed fuel pumps, in order to better outfit liquid fueled rockets.
1939. German scientists fired, and recovered, A-5 rockets with gyroscopic controls that attained seven miles altitude and eleven miles range.
1940. The Royal Air Force used rockets against the Luftwaffe planes in the Battle of Britain.
1941. In July, the first U.S. based launch of a rocket assisted airplane took place.  Lt. Homer A. Boushey piloted the craft.
 The U.S. Navy began developing "Mousetrap," which was a ship-based 7.2 inch mortar-fired bomb.
1942. The U.S. Air Force launched it's first air-to-air and air-to-surface rockets.
 After a failed attempt in June, Germans managed to successfully launch an A-4 (V2) rocket, in October.  It traveled 120 miles downrange from the launch pad.
1944. January 1st marked the beginning of long-range rocket development, by the California Institute of Technology.  This testing resulted in the Private-A and Corporal rockets.
 In September, the first fully operational V2 rocket was launched against London, from Germany.  Over a thousand V2's followed.
 Between the 1st and 16th of December, twenty four Private-A rockets were test fired at Camp Irwin, CA.
1945. Germany successfully launched the A-9, a winged prototype of the first Intercontinental Ballistic Missile, which was designed to reach North America.  It reached almost 50 miles in altitude, and achieved a speed of 2,700 mph.  The launch was executed on January 24th.
 In February, the Secretary of War approved the Army's plans to establish the White Sands Proving Grounds, for testing new rockets.
 On April 1st through 13th, seventeen rounds of Private-F rockets were fired at Hueco Ranch, Texas.
 On May 5th, Peenemunde was captured by the Red army, but the facilities there were mostly destroyed by the personnel.  Von Braun was captured by the U.S. and relocated to the White Sands proving ground in New Mexico.  He was made part of "Operation Paperclip."
May 8th marked the end of the war in Europe.  At the time of the German collapse, more than 20,000 V-1's and V-2's had been fired.
 Components of approximately 100 V-2 rockets arrived at the White Sands Testing Grounds, in August.
 On August 10, Robert Goddard died due to cancer.  He died at the University of Maryland Hospital in Baltimore.
 In October, the U.S. Army established it's first Guided Missile Battalion, with the Army Guard Forces.
 The Secretary Of War approved plans to bring top German rocket engineers to the U.S., in order to further knowledge and technology.
 Fifty five German scientists arrived at Fort Bliss and White Sands Proving Grounds, in December.
1946. In January, the U.S. outer space research program was started with captured V-2 rockets.  A V-2 panel of representatives of interested agencies was formed, and more than 60 rockets were fired before the supply was finally exhausted.
 On March 15, the first American built V-2 rocket was static-fired at the White Sands Proving Grounds.
 The first American-built rocket to leave the earth's atmosphere (the WAC) was launched on March 22nd.  It was launched from White Sands, and attained 50 miles of altitude.
 The first actual launch of an American-built V-2 took place at White Sands in April.
 The U.S. Army began a program to develop two stage rockets.  This resulted in the WAC Corporal as the 2nd stage of a V-2.
 On October 24th, a V-2 with a motion picture camera was launched.  It recorded images from 65 miles above the earth, covering 40,000 square miles.
 On December 17th, the first night-flight of a V-2 occurred.  It achieved a record making 116 miles of altitude, and velocity of 3600 mph.
 German rocket engineers arrived in Russia to begin work with Soviet rocket research groups.  Sergei Korolev built rockets using technology from the V-2.
1947. The Russians began launch tests of their V2 rockets, at Kapustin Yar.
 Telemetry was successfully used for the first time in a V-2, launched from White Sands.
 On February 20th, the first of a series of rockets was launched for the purpose of testing ejection canister effectivity.
 On May 29, a modified V-2 landed 1.5 miles south of Juarez, Mexico, narrowly missing a large ammunition dump.
 The first V-2 to be launched from a ship was launched from the deck of the U.S.S. Midway, on September 6th.
1948. On May 13th , the first two-stage rocket launched in the Western Hemisphere was launched from the White Sands facility.  It was a V2 which had been converted to include a WAC-Corporal upper stage.  It reached a total altitude of 79 miles.
 White Sands launched the first in a series of rockets that contained live animals, on June 11.  The launches were named "Albert," after the monkey that rode in the first rocket.  Albert died of suffocation in the rocket.  Several monkeys and mice were killed in the experiments.
 On June 26, two rockets, a V-2 and an Aerobee were launched from White Sands.  The V-2 attained 60.3 miles, while the Aerobee attained 70 miles altitude.
1949. A number 5 two-stage rocket was launched to 244 miles of altitude, and 5,510 mph velocity over White Sands.  It set a new record for the time-being, on February 24.
 On May 11, President Truman signed a bill for a 5,000 mile test range to extend from Cape Kennedy Florida.
 The Secretary of the Army approved the relocation of the White Sands scientists and their equipment to Huntsville, Alabama.
1950. On July 24th, the first rocket launch from Cape Kennedy was a number 8 of the two-stage rockets.  It climbed to a total of 25 miles in altitude.
 A number 7 two-stage rocket was launched from Cape Kennedy.  It set the record for the fastest moving man-made object, by traveling Mach 9.
1951. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory of California launched the first of a series of 3,544 Loki rockets, on June 22.  The program ended 4 years later, after having fired the most rounds in ten years at White Sands.
 On August 7, a Navy Viking 7 rocket set the new altitude record for single stage rockets by reaching 136 miles and a speed of 4,100 mph.
 The launch of the 26th V-2, on October 29,  concluded the use of the German rockets in upper atmosphere testing.
1952. On July 22, the first production-line Nike rocket made a successful flight.
1953. A missile was fired from an underground launch facility in White Sands on June 5. The facility was constructed by the Army Corps of Engineers.
 The first launch of the Army's Redstone missile, on August 20th, was conducted at Cape Kennedy by Redstone Arsenal Personnel.
1954. On August 17th, the first firing of a Lacrosse "Group A" missile was conducted at the White Sands facility.
1955. The White House announced, on July 29th, that President Eisenhower approved plans to launch unmanned satellites to circle the earth, as participation in the International Geophysical Year.  The Russians soon made similar announcements.
 On November 1st, the first guided-missile-equipped cruiser was placed in commission at the Philadelphia Naval Yard.
 On November 8th, the Secretary of Defense approved the Jupiter and Thor Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM) programs.
 President Eisenhower placed highest priority on Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) and the Thor and Jupiter IRBM programs on December 1st.
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