Sir Henry Segrave - World Record Speed Holder

UNKNOWN – 1920s: Sir Henry O'Neil de Hane Segrave gained fame by setting three land speed records and the water speed record. He was the first person to hold both the land and water speed records simultaneously. During World War I, Segrave served as a fighter pilot with the Royal Flying Corps, starting in January 1916, and was wounded in battle twice. In July 1916, he became a flight commander. After the war, Segrave turned his attention to auto racing starting with the 1921 200-mile race at Brooklands, the first long-distance race to be run in Great Britain. Segrave drove a Talbot-Darracq to the victory. He later became the first Briton to win a Grand Prix in a British car. He was victorious in the 1923 French Grand Prix, and also the 1924 San Sebastian Grand Prix at Circuito Lasarte in Spain, driving a Sunbeam in both events. After a further win at Miramas in France, he retired from racing to concentrate on speed records. On March 21, 1926, he set his first land speed record in a four-liter Sunbeam Tiger called “Ladybird” on the sands at Southport, England, at 152.33 mph. His record lasted for just over a month but he regained it on March 29, 1927, with his Sunbeam “Mystery” on Daytona Beach at 203.792 mph, becoming the first person to travel over 200 mph. Segrave set his final land speed record at 231.446 mph in his new car, the “Golden Arrow,” at Daytona Beach on March 11, 1929. After his 1929 land speed record, he immediately went to Miami for a motorboat race against multiple water speed record holder Gar Wood, and Segrave won, handing Wood his first defeat in nine years. After Segrave returned to Great Britain, he was knighted for his many accomplishments. A few months after receiving his knighthood, on June 13, 1930, Segrave captured the water speed record driving “Miss England II” on England's largest natural lake, Windermere. (Photo by ISC Images & Archives via Getty Images)