On April 9, 1959, the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA) introduced America’s first
astronauts to the press: Scott Carpenter, L. Gordon
Cooper Jr., John H. Glenn Jr., Virgil “Gus” Grissom,
Walter Schirra Jr., Alan Shepard Jr. and Donald Slayton.

The seven men, all military test pilots, were carefully
selected from a group of 32 candidates to take part in
Project Mercury, America’s first manned space program,
planned to begin orbital flights in 1961.         
    
    
    
    
    

From Top Left: Alan B. Shepard, Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom, L.
Gordon Cooper
Bottom Left: Wally Schirra, Donald K. "Deke" Slayton, John
Glenn and Scott Carpenter.

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.