Clara Theresa Sproat Glenn (1897 - 1971)

Theodore Cordy “Teddy” Freeman (1930 - 1964)

Test Pilot, Astronaut. Born in Haverford, Pennsylvania, he graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1953 and became a Naval Aviator. After he graduated from both the Air Force’s Experimental Test Pilot and Aerospace Research Pilot Courses, he elected to serve with the US Air Force as a Captain. He logged more than 3,300 hours […]

John Michael “Mike” Lounge (1946 - 2011)

US Astronaut. A 1969 graduate of the US Naval Academy, he earned a degree in astrogeophysics from the University of Colorado in 1970. His nine-year service as a naval officer included 99 combat missions in Southeast Asia aboard the USS Enterprise. In 1978 he joined NASA as an engineer at the Johnson Space Center in […]

David McDowell Brown (1956 - 2003)

United States Astronaut. Born in Arlington, Virginia, he attended Eastern Virginia Medical School and joined the US Navy immediately after his internship in 1982. He served as director of medical services at Navy Branch Hospital in Adak, Alaska, became a naval aviator in Beeville, Texas in 1990 and was a US Navy Captain test pilot […]

John Leonard “Jack” Swigert, Jr (1931 - 1982)

Astronaut, US Congressman. Born John Leonard Swigert in Denver, Colorado, he served with the US Air Force as a fighter pilot 1953 to 1956 and with the Air National Guard 1957 to 1965. He held a position as engineering test pilot for North American Aviation, Inc. before joining NASA as an Astronaut in April 1966. […]

Laurel Blair Salton Clark (1961 - 2003)

United States Astronaut. Chosen as an astronaut in 1996, she was serving as a Mission Specialist on the United States Space Shuttle “Columbia” when on February 1, 2003 the National Aeronautics and Space Administration lost all communication and radar contact with the shuttle just minutes before a 9:16AM scheduled landing time. A short time later […]

Michael Philip Anderson (1959 - 2003)

United States Astronaut. 43 years old, and a Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Air Force, he was chosen as an astronaut in 1994. He was a Payload Commander on the Space Shuttle Columbia. On February 1, 2003 NASA lost all communication and radar contact with the shuttle just minutes before a 9:16AM scheduled landing […]

Gregory B. Jarvis (1944 - 1986)

Astronaut. Born in Detroit, Michigan, he entered active duty in the US Air Force in 1969 and was assigned to the Space Division in El Segundo, California. As a Communications Payload Engineer officer, he worked on advanced tactical communications satellites. After his discharge from the Air Force, he served in various spacecraft test and systems […]

Roger Bruce Chaffee (1935 - 1967)

Astronaut. Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, he was an engineer, Lieutenant Commander in the US Navy and a NASA Astronaut in the Apollo program. On January 27, 1967, during a training exercise and pre-launch test for the Apollo 1 mission, Chaffee was killed, along with Astronauts Edward White and Gus Grissom in a command module […]

James Benson Irwin (1930 - 1991)

Astronaut. After he graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1951, he joined the US Air Force, earned his pilot wings and became a flight instructor. After various services assigned to a top-secret test missions, he was accepted in the astronaut program in 1966. At NASA, he was put in charge of the testing program […]

COL Charles Lacy Veach (1944 - 1995)

American Astronaut. Although born in Chicago, he considered Honolulu, Hawaii, to be his hometown. He was commissioned in the United States Air Force upon graduation from the Air Force Academy, 1966. Over the next 14 years, he served as a USAF fighter pilot on assignments in the United States, Europe, and the Far East, including […]

Elliot McKay See, Jr (1927 - 1966)

Astronaut. Born in Dallas, Texas, he was a former US Navy Commander Aviator and a experimental test pilot for the General Electric Company. From 1956 to 1962, he served as project pilot of J79-8 engine development program in connection with F4H aircraft. In September 1962, he was selected by NASA as an Astronaut pilot of […]

David Mathieson Walker (1944 - 2001)

Astronaut. He graduated from Annapolis in 1966, received flight training as a Naval aviator and served as a fighter pilot in Vietnam. In the 1970s, he was engineering test pilot in the flight test division at the Naval Air Test Center and became an NASA Astronaut in August 1979. He was a veteran of four […]

John Barron McKay (1922 - 1975)

Pioneer Astronaut. During World War II, he served as a US Navy pilot in the Pacific Theater, earning the Air Medal with two Clusters and a Presidential Unit Citation. After the war, he joined Edwards Air Force Base, California in 1951, as a D-558 and X-1 test pilot. As a project pilot, he flew on […]

Judith A. Resnik (1949 - 1986)

Astronaut. Born in Akron, Ohio, she was as a RCA design engineer when recruited into the NASA Astronaut program January 1978. She was the first American Jewish woman to go into space flight was as a mission specialist on the maiden voyage of the Space Shuttle Discovery August to September 1984. On January 28, 1986, […]

Donald Kent “Deke” Slayton (1924 - 1993)

American Astronaut. One of the “Original Seven” Mercury astronauts, he was grounded in 1962 due to a minor heart fibrillation. He was later named Director of Flight Crew Operations (otherwise known as “Chief Astronaut”), selecting all astronauts for crews until 1973, when he was restored to flight status. He flew 1 mission, the 1975 Apollo-Soyuz […]

Stanley David “David” Griggs (1939 - 1989)

Astronaut. Born in Portland, Oregon, he graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1962 and was a decorated combat Naval Aviator during the Vietnam War. In July 1970, he was assigned to the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center as a Naval Reservist, Rear Admiral in charge of various flight test and research projects in support […]

Robert Franklyn Overmyer (1936 - 1996)

Astronaut. He entered active duty with the US Marine Corps in 1958 and after completing Navy flight training, he was assigned to Marine Attack Squadron 214 in 1959. After various assignments at Edwards Air Force Base, California, he was chosen as an astronaut for the USAF Manned Orbiting Laboratory Program in 1966. He was selected […]

Ronald Erwin McNair (1950 - 1986)

US Astronaut. Born in Lake City, South Carolina, he was a Doctor of Physics when selected as astronaut candidate by NASA in January 1978. After he completed a one year training and evaluation period, he was placed for assignment as mission specialist astronaut on Space Shuttle flight crews. He flew as mission specialist on STS […]

Clifton Curtis Williams, Jr (1932 - 1967)

Astronaut. Born in Mobile, Alabama, he was a US Marine Corps Major, graduated from the Navy Test Pilot School and accumulated 2,500 hours flying time in jet aircraft. In October 1963, he was selected by NASA as an Astronaut serving as backup pilot for the Gemini 10 mission and worked in the areas of launch […]

Dr Patricia Hilliard Robertson (1963 - 2001)

Astronaut. Selected by NASA in June 1998, Dr. Robertson reported for training in August 1998. Astronaut Candidate Training included orientation briefings and tours, numerous scientific and technical briefings, intensive instruction in Shuttle and International Space Station systems, physiological training and ground school to prepare for T-38 flight training, as well as learning water and wilderness […]

Ellison Shoji Onizuka (1946 - 1986)

Astronaut. Born in Kealakekua, Kona, Hawaii, he was a Lieutenant Colonel in the US Air Force and served as a NASA Mission Specialist Astronaut. At Kennedy Space Center, Florida, January 28, 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after the launch taking the life of Onizuka and six other crew members. (bio by: John […]

Herb Edelman (1933 - 1996)

Herb Edelman was born in Brooklyn, New York. Before becoming an actor, Edelman studied to become a veterinarian at Cornell University, but left during his first year. After serving in the US Army as an announcer for Armed Forces Radio, he enrolled in Brooklyn College as a Theater student, but eventually dropped out. He later […]

John Dye (1963 - 2011)

John Dye was born in Amory, Mississippi, one of three sons, to James and Lynn Dye, a furniture manufacturer and homemaker. He was introduced to acting by playing the role of the youngest von Trapp child in a school production of The Sound of Music at Cleveland High School (CHS) in Cleveland, Tennessee. He performed […]

Jimmy Durante (1893 - 1980)

By the mid-1920s, Jimmy Durante had become a vaudeville star and radio personality in a trio called Clayton, Jackson and Durante. Lou Clayton and Eddie Jackson, Durante’s closest friends, often reunited with Durante in subsequent years. Jackson and Durante appeared in the Cole Porter musical The New Yorkers, which opened on Broadway on December 8, […]

Don Durant (1932 - 2005)

Don Durant then began touring the American West as a singer/actor. He opened at many prestigious nightclubs, such as The Sands and The Sahara in Las Vegas. He garnered a small role in the 1955 Van Heflin film Battle Cry. To supplement his income, Durant taught actors how to ride horses and shoot guns, and […]

George Fischbeck (1922 - 2015)

George Fischbeck was born in Wallington, New Jersey and grew up in Farmingdale, New Jersey, the son of Johanna (Mohlenhoff), a teacher, and George Stelling Fischbeck, a farmer. Fischbeck was stationed in Hawaii and worked as a tank mechanic. He worked with the Air National Guard during the Korean War, and began learning basic meteorology. […]

Jerry Dunphy (1921 - 2002)

After serving as a pilot in World War II, Jerry Dunphy began his broadcast television career in 1953. He was the news director/anchor at then-CBS owned-and-operated (O&O) WXIX (now CW affiliated WVTV) in Milwaukee. Dunphy also was a sports reporter at another CBS O&O, WBBM-TV, in Chicago. Dunphy also served as a color commentator for […]

James Dunn (1901 - 1967)

Born in New York City, James Dunn was the son of a Wall Street stockbroker. He joined his father in his business for three years. Dunn started his entertainment career in vaudeville before progressing to films at Paramount’s Astoria studios in the late 1920s starting as an extra. After a gap where he appeared in […]

Michael Duncan (1957 - 2012)

Michael Duncan took security jobs while in Los Angeles while trying to get some acting work in commercials. During this time, he worked as a bodyguard for celebrities like Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Jamie Foxx, LL Cool J, and The Notorious B.I.G., all the while doing bit parts in television and films. When rapper Notorious […]