Bluford, Guion 'Guy' Jr.
1942- · Contribution: 1983
Aerospace engineering and human spaceflight

Portraits are AI-generated interpretations, not photographs.
Impact on the world
Became the first African-American to travel into space, aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1983, after a career as a decorated Air Force fighter pilot and aerospace engineer.
Life & background
A retired U.S. Air Force fighter pilot and aerospace engineer, Bluford became the first African-American astronaut to fly into space during the STS-8 mission aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger. He later earned an MBA and served in aerospace leadership roles at several major companies.
Sources
- NASA; Smithsonian (National Air and Space Museum); Encyclopædia Britannica
More in Transportation
Allen, Thomas C.
unknown
Co-completed the first transcontinental flight by Black pilots in U.S. history, serving as mechanic and co-pilot alongside James Herman Banning
Banning, James Herman
1899-1933
First African American to be licensed as a pilot by the U.S. government; co-completed the first transcontinental flight by Black pilots
Beard, Andrew
1849-1921
Improved automatic railroad car coupler (Janney coupler design)
Bolden, Charles Frank Jr.
1946-
First African American NASA Administrator, appointed by President Obama in 2009; piloted and commanded four Space Shuttle missions, including the mission that deployed the Hubble Space Telescope; personally encouraged to apply as an astronaut by Ronald McNair, already profiled in this collection