Roger B. Chaffee (February 15, 1935 – January 27, 1967) was an American naval aviator, aeronautical engineer, and astronaut in the Apollo program. He died in a fire along with Gus Grissom and Ed White during a pre-launch test for Apollo 1. Before joining NASA, Chaffee obtained his private pilot's license and graduated from Purdue University in 1957. Joining the U.S. Navy as an ensign, he trained to fly the T-34, T-28, and A3D. Serving as quality and safety control officer for Heavy Photographic Squadron 62, he took crucial photos of Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis, earning him the Air Medal. He joined NASA's Astronaut Group 3 in 1963 and served as capsule communicator at Mission Control Center in Houston for the Gemini 3 and Gemini 4 missions. He was given his first spaceflight assignment in 1966 as the third-ranking pilot on Apollo 1 and was promoted soon after to lieutenant commander in the Navy. He was posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor and a second Air Medal.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_B._Chaffee
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1796:
French Revolutionary Wars: Johan van Angelbeek, the Batavian governor of Ceylon, surrendered Colombo to British forces, ending the Invasion of Ceylon. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasion_of_Ceylon_%281795%29
1907:
Japan and the United States signed a gentleman's agreement whereby the former would not permit further emigration to the U.S., while the latter would not limit Japanese immigration. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gentlemen%27s_Agreement_of_1907
1995:
Kevin Mitnick, the most wanted computer hacker at the time in the U.S., was arrested and charged with computer fraud and wire fraud. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Mitnick
2010:
Two passenger trains collided in Halle, Belgium, when one driver failed to stop at a red signal, resulting in 19 deaths and 171 injuries. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halle_train_collision
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
meet cute: (intransitive, informal) Of characters in a story or people in real life: to meet each other in an adorable, amusing, or cute way. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/meet_cute
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
People think that foot pain is a fact of life, but life is actually better than that. --Me and You and Everyone We Know https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Me_and_You_and_Everyone_We_Know