Richard Noble
A Scottish adventurer who chased speed on land, breaking the sound barrier in a car and inspiring a generation of engineers.
Born 1946 (age 80)·Scottish entrepreneur; holder of the land speed record from 1983 to 1997·Birthday: March 6·Baby Boomers
Biography
Richard Noble’s story is one of audacious ambition fueled by sheer will. After a modest start in business, he became obsessed with the land speed record, a symbol of national pride and technological daring. In the early 1980s, with more nerve than money, he built Thrust2, a jet-powered car he drove himself to capture the record at 633 mph on Nevada’s Black Rock Desert. He didn’t stop there. As the visionary project director for ThrustSSC, he marshaled a team of brilliant minds to create the first car to officially break the sound barrier, a roaring testament to British engineering that still holds the record today. Noble’s legacy isn’t just a number; it’s a blueprint for turning seemingly impossible dreams into concrete, earth-shaking reality.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Richard was born in 1946, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Richard Was Born
The biggest hits of 1946
#1 Movie
The Best Years of Our Lives
Best Picture
The Best Years of Our Lives
Richard's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1946Born
United Nations holds its first General Assembly
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $5,150Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Prisoner of Love" — Perry ComoBest Picture: The Best Years of Our Lives
1951Started school
First color TV broadcast in the US
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,925Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Too Young" — Nat King ColeBest Picture: An American in Paris
1959Became a teenager
Fidel Castro takes power in Cuba
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $12,400Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"The Battle of New Orleans" — Johnny HortonBest Picture: Ben-Hur
1962Could drive
Cuban Missile Crisis brings the world to the brink
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,800Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Stranger on the Shore" — Acker BilkBest Picture: Lawrence of Arabia
1964Could vote
Civil Rights Act signed; Beatles arrive in America
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $13,450Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"I Want to Hold Your Hand" — The BeatlesBest Picture: My Fair Lady
1967Turned 21
Summer of Love in San Francisco; first Super Bowl
Gas: $0.33/galHome: $14,250Min wage: $1.40/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"To Sir, with Love" — LuluBest Picture: In the Heat of the Night
1976Turned 30
Apple Computer founded; US bicentennial
Gas: $0.59/galHome: $29,300Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Silly Love Songs" — WingsBest Picture: Rocky
1986Turned 40
Challenger disaster; Chernobyl nuclear meltdown
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $66,600Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"That's What Friends Are For" — Dionne & FriendsBest Picture: Platoon
1996Turned 50
Dolly the sheep cloned
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $99,700Min wage: $4.75/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Macarena" — Los del RioBest Picture: The English Patient
2006Turned 60
Twitter launches; Pluto reclassified as dwarf planet
Gas: $2.59/galHome: $174,700Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Bad Day" — Daniel PowterBest Picture: The Departed
2016Turned 70
Donald Trump elected president; Brexit vote
Gas: $2.14/galHome: $181,700Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Love Yourself" — Justin BieberBest Picture: Moonlight
2026Turned 80
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Drove the Thrust2 vehicle to capture the world land speed record at 633.468 mph in 1983.
- Led the ThrustSSC project as director, resulting in the first car to break the sound barrier in 1997.
- Held the land speed record for 14 years, from 1983 until his own team broke it in 1997.
- Awarded an OBE for services to British industry and engineering.
Did You Know?
He funded the initial Thrust2 project by selling a unique product: decommissioned London double-decker buses to the US and Middle East.
Before his record runs, he was a pilot who once survived a crash in the Jordanian desert.
The ThrustSSC project was run on a famously tight budget, relying heavily on corporate sponsorship and volunteer expertise.
“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
