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Norman Dewis

Norman Dewis, English test driver and engineer (died 2019)

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Born
August 3, 1920
Died
June 8, 2019
Zodiac sign
Leo
Birth year
1920

About Norman Dewis

Norman Dewis was a British car test driver. He worked for Lea-Francis as a test driver from 1946 to 1951 then for Jaguar Cars from 1952 to 1985. Dewis was the test driver who, on 20 October 1953 at Jabbeke, Belgium, drove a Jaguar XK120 to 172.412 mph, a record for production cars. After the record run the Jaguar XK120 was converted back to a road car and sold by the company. Norman Dewis (3 August 1920 – 8 June 2019) was a British car test driver. Norman was also a supporter of Jaguar owners and the social scene around owning a car.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Norman Dewis timeline

  1. Norman Dewis (3 August 1920 – 8 June 2019) was a British car test driver.
  2. Dewis was the test driver who, on 20 October 1953 at Jabbeke, Belgium, drove a Jaguar XK120 to 172.412 mph, a record for production cars.

The world when Norman Dewis was born

Norman Dewis was born in 1920. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1920

  • #1 song"Swanee" – Al Jolson
  • Top movieThe Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
  • Best-selling bookThe Age of Innocence – Edith Wharton

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentBabe Ruth sold to the New York Yankees
  • Top headlineWomen win the right to vote with the 19th Amendment
  • Technology milestoneFirst commercial radio broadcasts
  • Defining fadFlappers and the Jazz Age
  • Notable inventionBand-Aid adhesive bandages
  • World population1.86 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderWoodrow Wilson
  • Sports championCleveland Indians (World Series)
  • U.S. population106.0M

1920 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Norman Dewis's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19202026
Gas$0.30$3.45/gal
Average home$6,296$435,000
Average income$3,269$67,500
Movie ticket$0.15$11.95
Postage stamp$0.02$0.73
Population106.0M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, Facebook, Wikidata. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.