On this day in 1966, Michigan State University sophomore, Lucille Annette Abrams became the first black contestant ever to enter the Miss Michigan pageant. The 20-year old contestant who played piano and violin, spoke French, and planned to study international law, served as Miss Lansing. She was sponsored by the Lansing Junior Chamber of Commerce.

The first Corvette, a two-seater sports car that would become an American icon, rolled off the assembly line on this day in 1953 at a Chevrolet plant in Flint, Michigan. Tony Kleiber, a worker on the assembly line, was given the privilege of driving the now-historic car off the line. It was one of just 300 Corvettes made