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

_______________________________ 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

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

polemology: The study of human conflict and war. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/polemology

___________________________ 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