About
As a crew member of Space Shuttle mission STS-8, he became the first African-American to venture into space.
Trivia
He was selected as one of the 100 Greatest African Americans by scholar Molefi Kete Asante.
Before Fame
He attended Penn State University, where he earned a PhD in aerospace engineering and was a member of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity.
Family Life
He married Linda Tull in 1964.
Associated With
He flew aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger before its ill-fated mission that killed Christa McAuliffe.