DAVID MELENDY

On this day in 1970, Apollo 13 returned to Earth safely after an on-
board accident with an oxygen tank.

The Apollo 13 crew following recovery.

MIKE  GRACIA

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882 – April 12, 1945)

Often referred to by his initials FDR, Roosevelt was a political leader who
served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death
in 1945. A Democrat, he won a record four presidential elections and became
a central figure in world events during the first half of the 20th century.

Franklin Roosevelt directed the federal government during most of the Great
Depression, implementing his New Deal domestic agenda in response to the
worst economic crisis in U.S. history.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicates Timberline 
Lodge at Mt. Hood in Oregon on Sept. 28, 1937.
(The Oregonian)

SANDY KOZEL

NASA announced the selection of America’s first seven astronauts
on this day in 1959.

CARLATA BRADLEY

John Glenn made space history on this day in 1962 when he orbited
the Earth three times in 4 hours, 55 minutes, becoming the first
American to do so. He was aboard the Friendship 7 Mercury
capsule (above).

Here’s what John Glenn saw while orbiting the Earth. 

Friendship 7 capsule after splashdown.

The successful mission concluded with a splashdown and recovery
in the Atlantic Ocean, 800 miles southeast of Bermuda.

Sir Sidney Poitier is 92-years-old today.

Actor, director, and diplomat Sidney Poitier became the first
African American to win an Oscar after performing in Lilies
of the Field (1963). The films Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner
(1967) To Sir, with Love (1967) and In the Heat of the Night
(1967), additionally bolstered his fame. The American Film
Institute called him one of the 25 Greatest Male Stars of All
Time in 1999.

1961

TV movie, 2001

MIKE  GRACIA

    

On this day in 1958, Explorer 1 became the United States’ first
satellite in space. The launch of the satellite — twice the size
of a basketball — was an important moment for the country,
as the Space Race with the Soviet Union was just beginning.

The three men responsible for the success of Explorer 1, at left is Dr. William H. Pickering, former director of JPL, which built and operated
the satellite. Dr. James A. van Allen, center, of the State University of Iowa, designed and built the instrument on Explorer that discovered
the radiation belts which circle the Earth. At right is Dr. Wernher von Braun, leader of the Army’s Redstone Arsenal team which built the
first stage Redstone rocket that launched Explorer 1.

On this day in 1945, Private Eddie Donald Slovik became the only
U.S. soldier since the American Civil War to be executed for
desertion.