On this day in 1974 — In the opener in Atlanta, Hank Aaron broke
Babe Ruth’s career record by hitting his 715th home run off Los
Angeles left-hander Al Downing in the fourth inning. The Braves
beat the Dodgers 7-4 before a crowd of nearly 54,000.

Henry “Hank” Louis Aaron (1934 – 2021)

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On April 8, 1993, the space shuttle Discovery lifted off from
the Kennedy Space Center. On board was astronaut Ellen
Ochoa, soon to become the first Hispanic woman in space.

Ochoa started at NASA in 1988 after receiving a doctorate
in electrical engineering from Stanford University. Two
years later, she was selected as an astronaut.