360
South Africa
Everything about South Africa on 360n60: 1 history, 2 dates in history, 1 future. Each told in 60 words.
History · 1
On this day · 2
- On this day · 3 December 1967
The first human heart transplant
On 3 December 1967, the surgeon Christiaan Barnard and his team at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town performed the first human-to-human heart transplant. The patient, Louis Washkansky, lived for 18 days. Advances in medicine since then mean heart transplant patients now often live for decades.
- On this day · 2 May 1952
The first jet airliner passenger service
On 2 May 1952, a de Havilland Comet of the British airline BOAC took off from London for Johannesburg, the world's first scheduled passenger service by jet airliner. Jets flew higher, faster and more smoothly than propeller planes, and soon transformed long-distance travel.