First circumnavigation by car

Racing driver Clärenore Stinnes (Germany), accompanied by filmmaker Carl-Axel Söderström (Sweden), embarked upon what is considered to be the first round-the-world drive on 25 May 1927, setting off from Frankfurt in Germany and finishing just beyond the starting point in Berlin on 24 June 1929, a total of 46,063 km (28,622 miles). The pair drove a three-speed, 50-hp Adler Standard 6 automobile that was unmodified, save for two lounge seats, added to give extra comfort, and the entire trip took 2 years 1 month. Two mechanics accompanied Stinnes and Söderström at the beginning of the trip but they abandoned the trip after c. 10,000 miles. During the US leg of the trip, President Herbert Hoover invited the drivers to the White House, and they met automobile entrepreneur Henry Ford at his car factory. After their adventure, Stinnes and Söderström (who previously did had only met two days before embarking) moved to Sweden and married.

NB This is not considered a "true" circumnavigation, in that the pair did not drive through antipodal points, but it is nonetheless a significant first.