Celebrating Pride Month: Harvey Milk, first openly gay man elected to public office

Harvey Milk, born May 22, 1930 in Woodmere, New York, graduated from New York State College for Teachers in Albany, majoring in mathematics.  He joined the US Navy as a diving officer during the Korean War. He left the Navy in 1955, accepting an "other than honorable" discharge rather than being court-martialed for being gay.

He moved to the Castro area of San Francisco, where many gay men who had been expelled from the military had congregated.  

Amid many scandals and trials, Milk was elected mayor of San Francisco November 8, 1977, winning over 16 other candidates.  His swearing-in made national headlines since he was the first non-incumbent openly gay man in the US to win an election for public office.  

He sponsored a bill that passed by a vote of 11-1 that banned discrimination based on sexual orientation in public accommodations, housing, and employment.  Mayor George Moscone signed it into law.

On November 27, 1978, Milk and Mayor George Moscone were assassinated by Dan White, a disgruntled former city supervisor who cast the only vote against Milk's bill.

Celebrating Native American Heritage Month: Juanita Howling Buffalo, first woman chair of Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes

Juanita Howling Buffalo, born September 6, 1930 in Canton, Oklahoma, became the first woman to chair the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes. After finishing her education she served in the Women's Army Corps where she met John W. Learned, whom she married and had 10 children with.

In 1965, she was a write-in candidate for the Cheyenne-Arapaho Business Committee and was not elected.  She obtained an injunction and was successful. A new election was held in 1966, and she and two other women won council seats. 

She became the first woman to serve as tribal chair in 1982.  During her term, she led protest against closing of the Concho Indian School and managed to obtain an injunction, but the school closed in 1983. 

Learned went to Washington DC with other tribal leaders in 1990 to reclaim the land and facilities of Fort Reno (near El Reno, Oklahoma) which had been vacated by the military in 1948 and transferred to the Dept. of Agriculture. In 1991, she helped reorganize the Bureau of Indian Affairs. 

She passed away in Oklahoma City in 1996.

Third Academy Awards ceremony 1930

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences held the third ceremony November 5, 1930, just seven months after the second Academy Awards ceremony.  All Quiet on the Western Front took home the awards for Outstanding Production and Best Directing.  Norma Shearer was awarded Best Actress for her performance in The Divorcee.  She was also nominated for the same award for her work in Their Own Desire.  Gloria Swanson was also a nominee that year. 

Betty Boop debuts 1930

Betty Boop made her first appearance in Dizzy Dishes, August 9, 1930. She was created by at Fleischer Studios and released by Paramount Pictures.  Between 1930 and 1939, she was featured in 90 cartoons. Mae Questel provided the voice of Betty from 1931 on and she recreated the voice for Betty Boop in the movie Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

In 2002, she was ranked #17 in TV Guide's 50 greatest cartoon characters of all time

Celebrating Black History Month: E. Melvin Porter, Oklahoma's first black senator

Edward Melvin Porter, born May 22, 1930 in Okmulgee, Oklahoma, was the first African American to sit in the Oklahoma State Senate.  He was a layer and served as the president of the Oklahoma City NAACP.

He was elected to the Oklahoma State Senate in 1964 and served until 1987.

He passed away in Oklahoma City in June 2016.

Celebrating Black History Month: Art Dorrington, first African-American in organized hockey

Arthur "Art" Dorrington, born March 13, 1930 in Nova Scotia, Canada, was the first African-American to sign an NHL contract, when he joined the New York Rangers in 1950.  Unfortunately, he never played in the major leagues, despite having very good statistics.  He played for the Atlantic City Seagulls, the New Haven Tomahawks, Washington Lions, Boston Olympics, Johnstown Jets and the Philadelphia Ramblers.  After he retired from hockey, he became a sheriff's officer for Atlantic County in New Jersey.

He passed away in December 2017.

Blondie, the comic strip, first appearance 1930

Blondie, who first appeared in newspapers September 8, 1930, is still featured in more than 2000 newspapers around the world.  Chic Young drew the strip until his death in 1973, when his son Dean took over and is still going strong.

Blondie, a flapper, married Dagwood Bumstead, who is subsequently disinherited by his parents because they disapprove of her.  They settle down as a middle-class suburban family.  They have two children, Alexander and Cookie, and a dog Daisy.  Their best friends are their next-door neighbors Herb and Tootsie Woodley. 

One of its running themes is the towering sandwiches that Dagwood fixes for himself. 

Blondie has appeared on the movie screen and on television.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Don Lind!

Don Lind, born May 18, 1930 in Midvale, Utah, went into space aboard the space shuttle Challenger (STS-51-B) as mission specialist in April-May 1985.  One of the mission's objectives was the deployment of the Northern Utah Satellite (NUSAT).

He spent 7 days in space.

Actor Rod Taylor born 1930

Handsome actor Rod Taylor, born January 11, 1930, in Sydney, Australia, had his break-out role in H. G. Well's Time Machine in 1960.  He had a ppeared in an episode of the Twilight Zone in 1959.  He would go on to star in one of my favorites, The Birds. 

He won 5 awards as part of the ensemble cast for Inglorious Basterds, of which his role as Winston Churchill would be his last.

He was considered for Col. George Taylor in Planet of the Apes but the part went to Charlton Heston.  He was also considered for Roper in Enter the Dragon with Bruce Lee, but John Saxon got that role.

Taylor passed away in January 2015 from a heart attack after a fall.

Cosmonaut Pavel Popovich born 1930

Pavel Popovich, born October 5, 1930, went into space during the early years of the Soviet space program. 

His first flight was on Vostok 4 in August 1962.  It was the first time two cosmonauts were in space at the same time, in different spacecraft.  Fellow cosmonaut Andriyan Nikolayev was aboard Vostok 3, having launched the day before Popovich. 

His second and final flight was aboard Soyuz 14 as commander in July 1974 with Yuri Artyukhin to Salyut 3. It was also the only flight to the space station since Soyuz 15 failed to dock, and then Salyut 3 was deorbited in January 1975.

Popovich died in September 2009 after suffering a stroke.

Edgar Mitchell, Apollo 14 astronaut, born 1930

Edgar Mitchell, born September 17, 1930 in Hereford, Texas, went into space aboard Apollo 14.  He became the sixth person to walk on the moon, spending 33 hours exploring the lunar surface with fellow astronaut Alan Shepard. 

He passed away in February 2016 in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Donn Eisele, Apollo 7 astronaut, born 1930

Donn Fulton Eisele, born June 23, 1930, went into space only once aboard Apollo 7.  He traveled with fellow astronauts Wally Schirra and Walt Cunningham. The mission was to test the spacecraft's ability to travel to the moon, since modifications had been made to the capsule after the Apollo 1 tragedy the year before.

The mission was a success but during the flight, Wally Schirra developed a head cold.  In space, without the pull of gravity, one's sinuses cannot drain as they do on Earth, thus Schirra became irritable.  Eisele contracted the same head cold and Cunningham might have to (or not, depending upon which story you listen to).  Upon re-entry, NASA demanded the crew wear their helmets but Schirra said they would not be able to clear their congestion and their ear drums might burst.

Schirra made the final decision not to wear helmets and the crew landed safely, but none of them went into space after that.

Eisele died of a heart attack in December 1987 during a business trip to Tokyo.

Cosmonaut Yuri Artyukhin born 1930

Yuri Artyukhin, born June 22, 1930, was a Russian cosmonaut who went into space once aboard Soyuz 14. He had been chosen to fly on Voskhod 3 but it was cancelled.  He flew as Flight Engineer on Soyuz 14 to Salyut 3 in July 1974 and spent 15 days in space.

He passed away in August 1998 of cancer.

Would-be cosmonaut Valentin Filatyev born 1930

Valentin Filatyev, born January 21, 1930 in Russia, was selected as an original cosmonaut in March 1960 in the same class as Yuri Gagarin. About three years later, Filatyev and fellow cosmonauts Grigori Nelyubov and Ivan Anikeyev got drunk and arrested for disorderly conduct by militia.  Since they were cosmonauts, the patrol was willing to let them go if they apologized.  Filatyev and Anikeyev agreed but Nelyubov did not and they were reported.  Since they had previous incidents they were dismissed.  Filatyev never went into space.

The Soviets made efforts to cover up Filatyev's dismissal and his image was airbrushed out of cosmonaut photos.

Filatyev passed away in September 1990.

John Young, Gemini, Apollo and Space Shuttle astronaut, born 1930

John W. Young, born September 24, 1930 in San Francisco, California, has been referred to as NASA's most experienced astronaut.  He was the only person to participate in three different space programs. 

In the 1960s, he flew on Gemini 3 and Gemini 10.  He flew on Apollo 10 and Apollo 16, making him one of three people to go to the moon twice.  In the 1980s, he flew twice on Columbia (STS-1), the first space shuttle flight, and again on STS-9.

After 42 years with NASA, he retired in December 2004.  He passed away in January 2018 from complications from pneumonia. 

James Irwin, Apollo 15 astronaut, born 1930

James Irwin, born March 17, 1930 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was the eighth person to walk on the moon as part of the Apollo 15 mission.  Launched July 26, 1971, Irwin served as the Lunar Module Pilot and explored the lunar surface with David Scott.  Irwin became the first automobile passenger on the moon, taking rides in the Lunar Rover while Scott drove.

After working for about 23 hours, flight surgeons on Earth noticed Irwin was having irregularities in his heart rhythms.  His heart had developed bigeminy, a continuous alternation of long and short heart beats.  Essentially he was having a heart attack.  If he was on Earth, flight surgeon Dr. Charles Berry said he would have put him in an ICU, but the lunar module had 100% oxygen atmosphere and in zero gravity so he was already in the best of circumstances.  Once Irwin returned to Earth, the symptoms did not recur.

But Irwin did develop coronary problems later in life, after leaving NASA, and passed away from a heart attack on August 8, 1991.

William Pogue, Skylab astronaut, born 1930

William "Bill" Pogue, born January 23, 1930 in Okemah, Oklahoma, went into space as part of the Skylab 4 crew November 1973-February 1974.  It was the third and final crew aboard the U.S.' first space station.  He received his Master of Science degree in Math from Oklahoma State University in 1960.

Pogue was in the U.S. Air Force from 1951 until he was selected by NASA for the Apollo program.  He was the pilot of Skylab 4 with fellow astronauts Gerald Carr and Edward Gibson. 

Pogue retired from the Air Force and NASA in 1975.

He passed away in Cocoa Beach, Florida March 3, 2014 from natural causes.

Happy birthday, Tippi Hedren!

Tippi Hedren, born January 19, 1930 in New Ulm, Minnesota, is probably best known for her role in Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds.  She had only one role prior to Hitchcock casting her in his  masterpiece.

She is still acting but also maintains a sanctuary for retired big cats in California, named Shambala.

Happy birthday, Skylab, Space Shuttle astronaut (and Okie!) Owen Garriott!

Owen K. Garriott, born November 22, 1930 in Enid, Oklahoma, flew on  Skylab 3 and the Space Shuttle Columbia.  He was selected as an astronaut in 1965 and his first mission was aboard Skylab 3 from July - September 1973, doubling the amount of time astronauts spent in space from the previous record.

During the mission, the controllers in Houston were surprised to hear a woman's voice coming from Skylab 3, even calling Bob Crippen by name.  She explained:

"The boys haven't had a home-cooked meal in so long I thought I'd bring one up." After several minutes in which she described forest fires seen from space and the beautiful sunrise, the woman said: "Oh oh. I have to cut off now. I think the boys are floating up here toward the command module and I'm not supposed to be talking to you." 

Garriott had recorded his wife the night before liftoff and the crew was in on the prank.

Garriott's second flight was aboard Columbia (STS-9) November-December 1983 as a mission specialist.  His son Richard flew aboard Soyuz TMA-13 in October 2008, becoming the first American to follow a parent into space.

Happy birthday, Oklahoma astronaut Tom Stafford!

Thomas "Tom" Stafford, born September 17, 1930 in Weatherford, Oklahoma, is an astronaut who has flown in two Gemini missions, Apollo 10 and an Apollo-Soyuz Test Project.  He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland before being accepted by NASA to be an astronaut September 17, 1962.

What a birthday present!

In December 1965, he piloted Gemini VI which performed the first rendezvous in space with Wally Schirra.  Less than six months later, he commanded Gemini IX with Eugene Cernan in  June 1966.

He commanded Apollo 10 in May 1969 with Eugene Cernan and John Young to the moon.  It was considered a 'dry run' for the first lunar landing.

In 1975, he commanded the Apollo spaceship with Vance Brand and Deke Slayton the first rendezvous with the Soviet Soyuz, a milestone in space history.