Shepard, Alan Bartlett, Jr.

Shepard, Alan Bartlett, Jr.- 1923-1998, American astronaut, b. East Derry, N.H., grad. Annapolis, 1944. He served on a destroyer during World War II and later had extensive experience as a test pilot. On May 5, 1961, under the U.S. space program Project Mercury, he became the first American to be launched into space.