Happy birthday, astronaut Bob Behnken!

Robert Louis Behnken, born July 28, 1970 in St. Ann, Missouri, has been to space three times.  He earned a BS in mechanical engineering and phusics from Washington University in St. Louis.  Then he earned an MS and PhD in mechanical engineering from California Institute of Technology.

He entered the Air Force and after graduating he flew the F-15 and F-16.

His first trip into space aboard Endeavour (STS-123) as mission specialist to the International Space Station in March 2008. He spent almost 16 days in space.

Behnken's second trip was also aboard Endeavour (STS-130) as mission specialist to the ISS in February 2010. He spent almost 14 days in space.

His third and final trip was aboard Crew Dragon Endeavour Demo-2 as Joint operations commander to the ISS in May 2020. He remained on the space station as part of Expedition 63 before returning to Earth in August 2020. He spent 63 days in space. 

Who is Bob Behnken? 

Happy birthday, Quicksilver!

Evan Peters, born January 20, 1987 in St. Louis, Missouri, got his big break when he was cast in American Horror Story in 2011.  His favorite role of mine is X-Man Quicksilver (Pietro Maximoff) in the X-Men series.  He won accolades as his performance as Jeffrey Dahmer in Monster, for which he won a Golden Globe award.

Celebrating Black History Month: 1st Kansas Colored Infantry Regiment, Civil War Heroes

In August 1862, Kansas territory army recruiter James Lane authorized the recruitment of black men for raising a regiment.  This went against the wishes of the Secretary of War Edwin Stanton.  Nevertheless, many freed black men and escaped slaves volunteered.  The newly formed regiment had three black officers, William D. Matthews, Henry Copeland, and Patrick Minor.  

They were the first black regiment to be organized in a northern state and the first black unit to see combat during the Civil War.  In the skirmish at Island Mound in Missouri, African-American soldiers showed they could fight and they could lead.

At the Battle of Poison Spring in Ouachita County, Arkansas in April 1864, the 1st Kansas Colored Infantry lost more men than any other unit during the Civil War.  

Celebrating Black History Month: Cathay Williams, first African-American woman to enlist in the US Army

Cathay Williams, born September 1844 in Independence, Missouri, was the first black woman to enlist in the US Army, serving in the American Indian Wars.  Her father was a free man but her mother was a slave, meaning Williams' place in the world was a slave.  At the time, the US Army prohibited women from serving, so Williams enlisted under the false name of William Cathay, passing herself as a man, on November 15, 1866.  She was assigned to the 38th US Infantry Regiment.  After a bout of smallpox, she was hospitalized and a surgeon discovered she was a woman.,  She was discharged by her CO Capt. Charles Clarke, October 14, 1868.

She passed away in Trinidad, Colorado in 1893.

Celebrating Black History Month: Blanche Bruce, first African-American senator to serve a full term

Blanche Kelso Bruce, born March 1, 1841 into slavery in Virginia, was the first elected African-American from Mississippi senator to serve a full term.  Hiram Revels, also of Mississippi was the first African-American senator but did not complete a full term.

His mother was a domestic slave and his father was her master, Pettis Perkinson, a white Virginia planter.  His father legally freed him and arranged for an apprenticeship to learn a trade.  He worked as a steamboat porter on the Mississippi River and moved to Hannibal, Missouri where he established a school for black children.  In 1868, he purchased a Mississippi Delta plantation and became a landowner of several thousand acres in the delta area.  

He was elected to the Senate in 1874 and on February 14, 1879, he presided over the first African-American and the only former slave to do so.  He served from March 1875 to March 1881.  

He was appointed Register of the Treasury in 1897 by President William McKinley and served until his death in 1898.  

Happy birthday, astronaut Michael Hopkins!

Michael Hopkins, born December 28, 1968 in Lebanon, Missouri, has been in space twice.  

His first flight was aboard Soyuz TMA-10M in September 2013 to the International Space Station.  He participated in Expeditions 37 and 38.  He remained on board for over 166 days and returned to Earth in March 2014.

His second and current trip started in November 2020 aboard SpaceX Crew-1 as commander to the International Space Station.  He is participating in Expedition 64 and will participate in Expedition 65 before returning to Earth in May 2021.

Steven Nagel, Space Shuttle astronaut, born October 27, 1946

Steven Nagel, born October 27, 1946 in Columbia, Missouri, went into space four times.

His first flight was aboard Discovery (STS-51-G) as mission specialist in June 1985.  It was Shannon Lucid's first flight as well.

His second flight was aboard Challenger (STS-61-A) as pilot in October-November 1985.  It was the last successful flight of Challenger and holds the record for the largest crew - eight - aboard any since spacecraft for the entire mission.

His third mission was aboard Atlantis (STS-37) as commander in April 1991.  The mission included two EVAs, the first since 1985. 

His fourth and final mission was aboard Columbia (STS-55) as commander in April-May 1993.  The mission hosted 88 experiments from 11 different nations.

He was married to fellow astronaut Linda Godwin.  

Nagel passed away in August 2014 from advanced melanoma.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Thomas Akers!

Thomas Akers, born May 20, 1951 in St. Louis, Missouri, is a veteran of four space shuttle flights.

His first mission was aboard Discovery (STS-41) as mission specialist in October 1990.  The main  objective of the mission was to deploy the Ulysses probe as part of the International Solar Polar Mission.

His second mission was aboard Endeavour (STS-49) as mission specialist in May 1992.  He performed two EVAs with fellow astronauts Pierre Thuot and Kathryn Thornton.

His third mission was back aboard Endeavour (STS-61) as mission specialist in December 1993.  He performed two more EVAs with Kathryn Thornton.

His fourth and final mission was aboard Atlantis (STS-79) as mission specialist in September 1996 to the space station Mir.

Celebrating Black History Month: George Poage, first African-American to medal in the Olymics

George Poage, born November 6, 1880 in Hannibal, Missouri, is the first African-American to win a medal in the modern Olympics.  He graduated from La Crosse High School in Wisconsin in 1899 as salutatorian and the school's top athlete.  He was the school's first African-American graduate.

He attended the University of Wisconsin and excelled at track and field.  He was the first African-American athlete to run for US, specializing in short sprints and hurdles.  In June 1904, he became the first African-American individual Big Ten track champion in conference history, placing first in the 440-yard dash and the 220-yared hurdles.

Poage represented the US in the 1904 Summer Olympics in St. Louis, Missouri, winning the bronze in the 200-yard and 400-yard hurdles.

Celebrating Black History Month: Roscoe Robinson, Jr., first African-American four-star general in the US Army

Roscoe Robinson, Jr., born October 11, 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri, is the first African-American to become a four-star general in the U.S. Army.  He graduated from the US Military Academy in West Point, with a degree in military engineering in 1951.

He served in the Korean War and received the Bronze Star.  He served in the Vietnam War and received the Legion of Merit, the Distinguished Flying Cross, and two Silver Stars.

Robinson was promoted to Brigadier General in 1975 and became Commanding General of the US Army Garrison in Okinawa.  He was promoted to Major General in 1976 and became a four-star general in 1982.

When he retired in 1985, he was awarded the Defense Distinguished Service Medal.

He passed away from leukemia in 1993.

Happy birthday, Captain Jonathan Archer!

Handsome actor Scott Bakula, born October 9, 1954 in St. Louis, Missouri, rose to fame while starring in Quantum Leap, for which he won a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Drama. But he is more affectionately known as Captain Jonathan Archer in Star Trek: Enterprise. 

He is currently starring in NCIS: New Orleans.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Linda Godwin!

Linda Godwin, born July 2, 1952 in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, is a veteran of four space shuttle flights.  After getting her doctorate in physics, she joined NASA in 1980 and became an astronaut in 1986.

Her first flight was on Atlantis (STS-37) as mission specialist in April 1991.

Her second flight was aboard Endeavour (STS-59) as mission specialist in April 1994.  She assisted in photographing supersites, places NASA has identified to track a variety of contributors to track climate change.  She took clear pictures of Chickasha, Oklahoma(!), one of 19 supersites.

Her third mission was on Atlantis (STS-76) in March 1996 to the space station Mir, during which she performed the first U.S. spacewalk around two docked spacecraft with fellow astronaut Michael Clifford.

Her fourth and final mission was aboard Endeavour (STS-108) in December 2001.  She and fellow astronaut Daniel Tani completed a four hour, 12 minute spacewalk to install insulation on the International Space Station's main solar arrays.

Godwin was married to fellow astronaut Steven Nagel until his death in 2014.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Robert Springer!

Robert Springer, born May 21, 1942 in St. Louis, Missouri, is a veteran of tw space shuttle flights.  He was a pilot in the Marine Corps and flew combat sorties during the Vietnam War. 

His first mission was aboard Discovery (STS-29) as mission specialist in March 1989.

Springer's second and final mission was aboard Atlantis (STS-38) as mission specialist in November 1990.  This flight carried a classified payload rumored to monitor events during the first Gulf War.

He retired from NASA in December 1990.

Happy birthday, Janet Kavandi, space shuttle astronaut!

Janet Lynn Kavandi, born July 17, 1959 in Carthage, Missouri, is a veteran of three space shuttle missions.  Her first was STS-91 aboard Discovery, the last mission to the space station Mir in June 1998, where she was a mission specialist.  Her second mission was STS-99 on the Endeavor in June 2000.  It was the last solo flight of the Endeavor because the remaining missions were dedicated to the International Space Station.

Her final mission STS-104, was also to the ISS on board the Atlantis in July 2001.

Celebrating Black History Month: George Washington Carver, botanist/inventor

George Washington Carver, born into slavery in the early 1860’s (exact date unknown), rewrote the book on alternative crops, such as peanuts and sweet potatoes.  Actually, he wrote the book.  He managed to obtain an education by attending a series of high schools before earning his diploma from Minneapolis High School in Minneapolis, Kansas.

He found it difficult to get into college because of his race, so he traveled to Ness County, Kansas where he maintained a small laboratory with plants and flowers.  He also grew rice, corn and various fruit trees, earning money by performing odd jobs around town. Carver took out a loan and began studying at Simpson College, Indianola, Iowa.  A teacher encouraged him to study botany at Iowa State Agricultural College in Ames.  In 1891, he was their first black student.  He continued on until he got his master’s degree.

He developed many agriculture techniques such as crop rotation and developed many recipes for sweet potatoes and peanuts.  He published bulletins to distribute his agricultural information.

Carver was invited to speak at the United Peanut Associations of America’s convention in 1920.  His testimony before Congress helped establish the Fordney-McCumber Tariff in 1922 which included imported peanuts.  It helped American peanut farmers be more competitive with Chinese imports.

In January 1943, Carver fell down a flight of stairs and died from complications from the fall.  He was approximately 78.