3602 July 1900: The first Zeppelin airship flies
In 60 words
On 2 July 1900, the first rigid airship built by Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin, LZ 1, rose over Lake Constance in Germany, carrying five people for about 18 minutes. Zeppelins later carried passengers across the Atlantic, until the Hindenburg disaster of 1937 ended the airship era.