Born November 22, 1942 (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)

American astronaut, engineer, pilot

In the 1950s and 1960s, the early years of the U.S. space program, all astronauts were white males (see Buzz Aldrin [1930–], Neil Armstrong [1930–], and John Glenn [1921–] entries). This situation changed during the late 1960s and 1970s when the National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA) recognized that many talented scientists were being overlooked by the astronaut training program. Consequently, NASA began opening the application process to minorities and women. Since then, astronauts from these groups have made contributions to space exploration (see Franklin Chang-Diaz [1950–], Mae Jemison [1956–], Shannon Lucid [1943–], Mercury 13, Ellen Ochoa [1958–], and Sally Ride [1951–] entries; also see box on page 37). Among them was Guy Bluford, an aerospace engineer who was one of the first African Americans in space and a pilot on four U.S. space shuttle missions.

Bluford is frequently hailed as a pioneer, but he has...