October 17, 1956, Mae Jemison, first African-American woman in space, was born.
From The Good News Network. Here's one of the important things I've learned today so far.
https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/events061017/
"Raised in Chicago, Dr. Jemison earned a degree in chemical engineering along with a medical degree—and learned Russian, Swahili, and Japanese. She was elected to serve as a mission specialist aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour STS-47 launch. She orbited the Earth for nearly eight days on September 12–20, 1992, and conducted a bone cell research experiment during her 127 orbits of Earth.
Jemison was a doctor for the Peace Corps in Liberia and Sierra Leone in the 80s and practiced medicine as a general practitioner, before pursuing becoming an astronaut, and applying to NASA.
Jemison left the agency in 1993 and founded a technology research company, and, later a nonprofit foundation—and appeared in an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. She also authored several children’s books, and an autobiography, Find Where the Wind Goes."
There's a bit more text and some great photos at the link.
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