David Scott (born June 6, 1932) is a retired NASA astronaut, the
seventh person to walk on the Moon and the only commander of a
successful lunar landing mission still alive. Born in Texas, he attended
West Point and was commissioned in the Air Force, flying as a fighter
pilot in Europe, and then as a test pilot. He was selected in 1963 as
one of NASA's third group of astronauts. He first flew into space in
1966 as pilot of Gemini 8 alongside Neil Armstrong. Scott spent ten
days in orbit in March 1969 as command module pilot of Apollo 9. He
made his third and final spaceflight in 1971 as commander of Apollo 15,
the fourth crewed lunar landing, and explored the Moon with James Irwin
for three days. Scott retired from the Air Force in 1975 with the rank
of colonel. After serving as director of NASA's Dryden Flight Research
Center, he retired from the agency in 1977, entering the private sector.
He served as a consultant for several films about the space program,
including Apollo 13.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Scott>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1822:
Alexis St. Martin, a Canadian voyageur, was accidentally shot
in the stomach; medical investigations of his injury led to a greater
understanding of the processes of digestion.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexis_St._Martin>
1894:
Governor Davis Hanson Waite ordered the Colorado state militia
to protect and support miners engaged in a five-month strike in Cripple
Creek.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cripple_Creek_miners%27_strike_of_1894>
1982:
Falklands War: The Royal Navy destroyer HMS Cardiff engaged
and destroyed a British Army helicopter in a friendly-fire incident.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1982_British_Army_Gazelle_friendly_fire_incident>
2017:
Syrian civil war: The Syrian Democratic Forces (soldiers
pictured) opened the Second Battle of Raqqa, the final phase of the
Raqqa campaign, capturing the de facto capital of the Islamic State four
months later.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Raqqa_%282017%29>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
polemology:
The study of human conflict and war.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/polemology>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
The illusion which exalts us is dearer to us than ten thousand
truths.
--Aleksandr Pushkin
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Aleksandr_Pushkin>