Mae Jemison, first Black woman to go to space
Mae Jemison born October 17, 1956
Mae attended Cornell Medical School and served in the Peace Corps medical officer in Liberia and Sierra Leone. She also worked on research projects including the development of Hepatitis-B vaccine. When she returned to the US, she studied engineering and applied to NASA. She was selected for the astronaut program in 1987 and became the first Black woman to travel in space.