Jim Lovell (born March 25, 1928) is an American retired astronaut. The first person to fly four times in space, he commanded Apollo 13 (1970), which suffered a failure en route and looped around the Moon. Lovell also flew twice during Project Gemini, and flew with Frank Borman and William Anders on Apollo 8 (1968), the first crewed mission to orbit the Moon. Lovell was the first person to fly to the Moon twice, though due to the Apollo 13 abort, he never landed on it. A graduate of the Naval Academy class of 1952, Lovell became a test pilot, and missed selection by NASA as one of the Mercury Seven astronauts due to a temporarily high bilirubin count. He was accepted in September 1962 as a member of NASA's second group of astronauts, and is a recipient of the Congressional Space Medal of Honor and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He co-authored the book Lost Moon, the basis for the film Apollo 13, in which he appeared in a cameo. (This article is part of a featured topic: NASA Astronaut Group 2.).

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Featured_topics/NASA_Astronaut_Group_2

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1410:

The Yongle Emperor of Ming China launched the first of his military campaigns against the Mongols, resulting in the fall of the Mongol khan Bunyashiri. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yongle_Emperor%27s_campaigns_against_the_Mongols

1807:

The Slave Trade Act became law, abolishing the Atlantic slave trade in the British Empire. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slave_Trade_Act_1807

1903:

The Scottish National Antarctic Expedition anchored in the South Orkney Islands with the intention of establishing the first weather station in Antarctic territory. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_National_Antarctic_Expedition

1934:

Enrico Fermi published his discovery of neutron-induced radioactivity, for which he was later awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enrico_Fermi

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

Augean stables: 1. An extremely filthy or untidy place or situation. 2. (figuratively) A place or situation characterized by corruption or moral decay. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Augean_stables

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

You can't build a peaceful world on empty stomachs and human misery.   --Norman Borlaug https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Norman_Borlaug