October 21
On October 21, 1950, Astronaut and physicist Ronald E. McNair was born in South Carolina.
Ronald E. McNair gained higher education at North Carolina A&T University, where he graduated magna cum laude in 1971. After schooling, McNair started his career as a respected and esteemed physicist and astronaut. McNair went on to become the second African American to go to space.
On January 28, 1986, Ronald E. McNair tragically passed away from the Challenger space shuttle crash.