Born in Lake City, South Carolina, he was raised by his parents, Pearl M. and Carl C. McNair, and had two brothers, Carl S. and Eric A. McNair. In the summer of 1959, he refused to leave the segregated Lake City Public Library without being allowed to check out his books. After the police and his mother were called, he was allowed to borrow books from the Library, which is now named after him. A child's book, Ron's Big Mission, offers a fictionalized account of this event.[1] McNair graduated as valedictorian of Carver High School in 1967.[2][2]
In 1971 he received a bachelor's degree in engineering physics, magna cum laude, from North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro, North Carolina. McNair was a member of Omega Psi PhiFraternity. In 1976, he received his Ph.D. in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology under guidance of Prof. Michael Feld, becoming nationally recognized for his work in the field of laser physics. He received three honorary doctorates, a score of fellowships and commendations and achieved a black belt in karate. After graduation from MIT, he became a staff physicist at the Hughes Research Lab in Malibu, California. McNair was a member of the Bahá'í Faith.[3]
Astronaut candidates Ronald McNair, Guion Bluford, and Frederick Gregory
Astronaut
In 1978, McNair was selected as one of thirty-five applicants from a pool of ten thousand for the NASA astronaut program. He flew on STS-41-B aboard Challenger in February 1984, as a mission specialist becoming the second African American to fly in space. Following this mission, McNair was selected for STS-51-L, which launched on January 28, 1986, and was subsequently killed when Challengerdisintegrated nine miles above the Atlantic Ocean just 73 seconds after liftoff.[4]
Music in Space project
McNair was an accomplished saxophonist. Before his fateful last space shuttle mission he had worked with composer Jean Michel Jarre on a piece of music for Jarre's then-upcoming album Rendez-Vous. It was intended that he would record his saxophone solo on board the Challenger, which would have made McNair's solo the first original piece of music to have been recorded in space[5] (although the song "Jingle Bells" had been played on a harmonica during an earlier Gemini 6 spaceflight). However, the recording was never made as the flight ended in disaster and the deaths of its entire crew. The last of the Rendez-Vous pieces, (Last Rendez-Vous) had the additional name "Ron's Piece". Ron McNair was supposed to take part in the concert through a live feed.
The U.S. Department of Education offers the Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program for students with low income, first generation students, and/or underrepresented students in graduate education for doctorate education.
On January 29, 2011, the Lake City, South Carolina, library was dedicated as the Ronald McNair Life History Center.[2] When Ronald McNair was nine, the police and his mother were called because he wished to check out books from this library, which served only white patrons before he arrived. He said, "I'll wait," to the lady and sat on the counter until the police and his mother arrived, and the officer said, "Why don't you just give him the books?" which the lady behind the counter reluctantly did. He said, "Thank you, M'am," as he got the books.[6]
Several K-12 schools have also been named after McNair.
Ronald E. McNair Middle School in Lake City, South Carolina, was renamed from Carver High School in his honor (he was a high school graduate of the facility).
There is a memorial in the Ronald McNair Park in Brooklyn, New York. in his honor.[9][10]
The Dr. Ronald E. McNair Playground in East Harlem, New York, New York, is named after him.[11]
The Ronald E. McNair Space Theater inside the Davis Planetarium in downtown Jackson, Mississippi is named in his honor.
The Naval ROTC building on the campus of Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge, Louisiana is named in his honor.
The Engineering building at North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro, NC is named in his honor.
The McNair Building at MIT houses the Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research.
The McNair Post-baccalaureate Achievement Program, which operates at 179 campuses in the U.S. (April 7), awards research money and internships to first-generation and otherwise underrepresented students in preparation for graduate work.[12]
McNair was portrayed by Joe Morton in the 1990 TV movie Challenger.
The song, "A Drop Of Water," recorded by Japanese jazz artist Keiko Matsui, with vocals by the late Carl Anderson, was written in tribute to Dr. McNair.
The Jean Michel Jarre track Last Rendez-Vous was re titled Ron's Piece in his honor. McNair was originally due to record the track in space aboard Challenger, and then perform it via a live link up in Jarre's Rendez-vous Houston concert.
This article is copied from an article on Wikipedia® - the free encyclopedia created and edited by its online user community. The text was not checked or edited by anyone on our staff. Although the vast majority of Wikipedia® encyclopedia articles provide accurate and timely information, please do not assume the accuracy of any particular article. This article is distributed under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License.
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional.
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
)
)