360What happened in 1938?
6 moments from 1938 on 360n60, each told in 60 words or fewer.
- History · March 1938
Oil is discovered at Dammam No. 7
In March 1938, after years of searching, the Dammam No. 7 well in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province struck oil in commercial quantities. Six earlier wells had disappointed, but geologist Max Steineke urged the team to keep drilling. The discovery transformed the Kingdom's future, and the well later earned the name Bir Al-Khair, the Prosperity Well.
- On this day · 3 July 1938
Mallard sets the world speed record for steam
On 3 July 1938, the British steam locomotive Mallard reached 203 km/h on a slight downhill stretch near Grantham, England. It remains the fastest speed ever recorded by a steam locomotive. Mallard is preserved at the National Railway Museum in York.
- On this day · 30 October 1938
The War of the Worlds radio broadcast
On 30 October 1938, Orson Welles broadcast a radio drama of H. G. Wells's The War of the Worlds in the United States, presented as a series of realistic news bulletins about a Martian invasion. Some listeners were alarmed, and the programme became a famous example of the power of mass media.
- October 1938 · from Oil is discovered at Dammam No. 7
The discovery is officially announced
- 1938 · from King Abdulaziz unifies the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Oil is discovered at Dammam
- 1938 · from The 1930s: hard times, a new kingdom and a world at war
Oil is discovered at Dammam