Alan Shepard (November 18, 1923 – July 21, 1998) was an American astronaut, naval aviator, test pilot, and businessman. In 1961 he became the second person and the first American to travel into space, and in 1971 he walked on the Moon (pictured). Shepard saw action with the surface navy during World War II. He became a naval aviator in 1947, and a test pilot in 1951. He was one of NASA's original Mercury Seven astronauts in 1959, and in May 1961 he made his first spaceflight: Mercury-Redstone 3, the first crewed Project Mercury flight. In 1971, he commanded the Apollo 14 mission, piloting the Apollo Lunar Module Antares. He became the fifth and the oldest person to walk on the Moon, and the only one of the Mercury Seven astronauts to do so. He was promoted to rear admiral in 1971, and was the first astronaut to reach that rank. He was Chief of the Astronaut Office from November 1963 to July 1969, and from June 1971 to April 1974. He retired from NASA and the United States Navy in July 1974.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Shepard

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1977:

The Solomon Islands ratified the adoption of a new flag (pictured). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Solomon_Islands

1978:

Jim Jones led more than 900 members of the Peoples Temple to mass murder/suicide in Jonestown, Guyana, hours after some of its members assassinated U.S. Congressman Leo Ryan. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Ryan

2003:

With its ruling in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court made the state the first in the U.S. to legalize same-sex marriage. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodridge_v._Department_of_Public_Health

2017:

Cyclone Numa, a rare "medicane", made landfall in Greece to become the worst weather event that the country had experienced since 1977. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclone_Numa

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

the world is someone's oyster: All opportunities are open to someone; the world is theirs. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/the_world_is_someone%27s_oyster

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Whatever stage of development it may reach, China will never pursue hegemony or expansion, and will never impose its will on others. China does not seek spheres of influence, and will not fight a cold war or a hot war with anyone. … No matter how the global landscape evolves, the historical trend of peaceful coexistence between China and the United States will not change.   --Xi Jinping https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Xi_Jinping