On October 14, 1947, U.S. Air Force pilot Chuck Yeager became the first person to fly faster than the speed of sound. He achieved this milestone in the Bell X-1, a rocket-powered aircraft, over the desert of southern California. Traveling at Mach 1.06 (about 700 miles per hour at altitude), Yeager's flight proved that controlled supersonic flight was possible. This achievement marked a major breakthrough in aviation history and paved the way for modern high-speed aircraft and space exploration.