The Astronomical Grit of Ronald McNair
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https://hackaday.com/2020/09/03/the-astronomical-grit-of-ronald-mcnair/
Ronald McNair was born October 21, 1950 in Lake City, South Carolina, the second of three sons, to Pearl and Carl McNair. His mother was a teacher, and encouraged his love of reading. Ronald's father, Carl was an auto mechanic who never finished high school and always regretted it.
...Ronald learned to read by the time he was three years old, and his father forged his birth certificate so he could start school at age four. From a young age, he was obsessed with science fiction, space, and Sputnik in particular. Even though the house was filled with books, there was one book that Ron didn't have: the one that told him much more about his prized slide rule than the pamphlet that came with it.In the summer of 1959 he located the book in the Lake City public library. There was only one problem: the library was segregated, and he wasn't allowed check it out. Nine-year-old Ron didn't abide, so he simply refused to leave the library until they let him check out his stack of books. First the librarians called the cops, and then they called his mother.
Pearl McNair arrived to find her son sitting on the checkout counter, his little legs dangling down the side. Since he wasn't causing any real trouble, she proudly stood by her son in the matter, telling the librarians that they ought to just let him check out the books. From that day on, Ron could check out books whenever he wanted.
Read more about him at the link.
A blogger comments:
Ron McNair despite his inferior 'separate but equal' education went on to graduate with a degree in physics and eventually earned a PhD in laser physics from MIT. Along the way he also acquired a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and was accepted into the NASA astronaut program.
He died on the morning of January 28th, 1986 when the Challenger broke up shortly after launch. It would have been his second trip into space.
Sadly most Americans today know all about George Floyd but almost no one remembers Ronald McNair.
"Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08
The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.
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@george-k said in The Astronomical Grit of Ronald McNair:
He died on the morning of January 28th, 1986 when the Challenger broke up shortly after launch. It would have been his second trip into space.
Sadly most Americans today know all about George Floyd but almost no one remembers Ronald McNair.
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It is said that he is not remembered more than George Floyd.
(Though memories are short, so ask again in 30 years who George Floyd is)
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@taiwan_girl said in The Astronomical Grit of Ronald McNair:
(Though memories are short, so ask again in 30 years who George Floyd is)
Everyone who remembers Rodney King raise your hand!
