January 16, 1943 Marcelite Jordan Harris, the first African American female General in the United States Air Force, was born in Houston, Texas. Harris earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in speech and drama from Spelman College in 1964 and was commissioned through Officer Training School in 1965. She has held a variety of assignments, […]
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Frederick Drew Gregory – January 7th in African American History
January 7, 1941 Frederick Drew Gregory, the first African American to pilot a space shuttle, was born in Washington, D. C. Gregory earned his Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Air Force Academy in 1964 and was a decorated helicopter pilot during the Vietnam War.
February 1st in African American History – Michael Phillip Anderson
February 1, 2003 Michael Phillip Anderson, NASA astronaut, was killed along with the rest of the crew of STS-107 Columbia when the craft disintegrated after reentry into the earth’s atmosphere. Anderson was born December 25, 1959 in Plattsburgh, New York. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in physics and astronomy from the University of […]
November 22nd in African American History – Guion “Guy” Bluford, Jr.
November 22, 1942 Guion “Guy” Bluford, Jr., engineer, Air Force colonel and astronaut, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Bluford earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Pennsylvania State University in 1964, his Master of Science degree and Ph.D. from the Air Force Institute of Technology in 1974 and 1978, respectively and his Master of Business […]
November 5th in African American History – Benjamin Alvin Drew
November 5, 1962 Benjamin Alvin Drew, NASA astronaut, was born in Washington, D. C. Drew earned a dual Bachelor of Science degree in physics and astronautical engineering from the United States Air Force Academy in 1984 and his Master of Science degree in aerospace science from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. In 2006, he earned another master’s […]
October 25th in African American History – Emmett W Chappelle
October 25, 1925 Emmett W. Chappelle, scientist and researcher, was born in Phoenix, Arizona. Chappelle earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology from the University of California in 1950 and a master’s degree from the University of Washington in 1954. From 1950 to 1953, he served as a biochemistry instructor at Meharry Medical College […]
October 21st in African American History – Valerie Thomas
October 21, 1980 Valerie Thomas received patent number 4,229,761 for her invention of the Illusion Transmitter which allowed the user to render three dimensional illusions in real-time. Thomas was born in May, 1943 and graduated from Morgan State University with a degree in physics. She went to work for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration […]