May 18, 1953

1953Alan Kupperberg, American author and illustrator (died 2015)^[†]

Alan Kupperberg was an American comics artist known for working in both comic books and newspaper strips.

1953Jacqueline Cochran becomes the first woman to break the sound barrier.^[†]

Jacqueline Cochran was an American pilot and business executive. She pioneered women's aviation as one of the most prominent racing pilots of her generation. She set numerous records and was the first woman to break the sound barrier on 18 May 1953. Cochran was the wartime head of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) (1943–1944), which employed about 1000 civilian American women in a non-combat role to ferry planes from factories to port cities. Later on, Cochran was initially a sponsor of the Mercury 13 women astronaut program, before testifying against it in a congressional Subcommittee.