On this date in 1926, American physicist Robert H. Goddard successfully launched the world's first liquid-fueled rocket in Auburn, Mass., from what was then the Asa Ward Farm. Propelled by liquid oxygen and gasoline, the rocket went up to an altitude of 41 feet in 2.5 seconds before landing 184 feet away. He's considered to be the father of modern rocket propulsion, with NASA saying this historic flight "was as significant to history as that of the Wright brothers at Kitty Hawk." His legacy lives on these days with NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, established on May 1, 1959, in Greenbelt, Md. Its formal dedication took place on March 16, 1961, 35 years to the day after he launched his liquid-fueled rocket.
You can read more about Goddard here, courtesy of NASA. And here you can see the Goddard Rocket Launching Site National Historic Landmark in Auburn, which is now within the boundaries of the town-owned Pakachoag Golf Course.
