1930: Birth of Terence Steven "Steve" McQueen at Beech Grove (Indiana, U.S.) - Bentley won its fifth win at the 24 Hours. British driver Woolf Barnato became the first three-time winner at Le Mans...in three participations. It wouldn't be until 2003 that Bentley would again reach the top step on the podium, with Tom Kristensen, Dindo Capello and Guy Smith.

1956: Steve McQueen weds actress and dancer, Neile Adams. They would have two children: a daughter, Terry (1959-1998), and a son, Chad (born December 28, 1960), initiator of the documentary "The Man & Le Mans" - The 24 Hours of Le Mans was dominated at the time by Jaguar, victorious for the fourth time since 1951, thanks to Ron Flockhart and Ninian Sanderson.

1958: Steve McQueen becomes a television star in the series "Wanted: Dead or Alive" in which he plays bounty hunter Josh Randall - At the 24 Hours, the first of four wins for Belgian driver Olivier Gendebien. He raced with Ferrari along with American driver Phil Hill.

1960: Worldwide success and international recognition for Steve McQueen in "The Magnificent Seven" - Already a three-time winner (1949, 1954 and 1958), Ferrari began - thanks to the Belgian duo Olivier Gendebien-Paul Frère - an uninterrupted succession of victories until 1965.

1963: McQueen reunites with John Sturges, director of "The Magnificent Seven" for "The Great Escape," another international triumph - Ludovico Scarfiotti and Lorenzo Bandini made up the only 100% Italian driver line-up to win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans at the wheel of a Ferrari. It was the seventh (and fourth consecutive) Ferrari win at Le Mans.

1968: Steve McQueen stars in two movies: "The Thomas Crown Affair" and "Bullitt." For the long filming schedule of the latter, he served as his own producer by creating the company Solar - For the one and only time in its history, the 24 Hours took place in September, following the social unrest of the month of May in France. The race was won by the Ford GT40 of Pedro Rodriguez-Lucien Bianchi, and Jo Siffert gave Porsche the first of its 17 pole positions.

1969: Steve McQueen shows up at the 24 Hours of Hours for the first location scouting of what will become "Le Mans," filmed the following year and produced by Solar. In 1970, he was looking to compete at the race, but his insurers forbade him - The 24 Hours ended in an extraordinary chase between the Porsche 908 of Hans Herrmann and the Ford GT40 of Jacky Ickx, who snatched the win in the last lap with the smallest of gaps between the top two.

Click here for other stories about Steve McQueen's film "Le Mans."

Tickets to the 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans will be available for purchase on November 3, 2015 (for ACO members) and Friday, November 6, 2015 (for the general public).

Jean-Philippe Doret / ACO - Translation by Nikki Ehrhardt / ACO

Photo: Filming of the movie "Le Mans," starring and produced by Steve McQueen, lasted from early June to mid-November 1970.