Valentina Tereshkova was born on 6 March 1937 in Bolshoye Maslennikovo. A Soviet cosmonaut, Tereshkova worked in a textile factory and was an enthusiastic amateur parachutist before being selected for the space programme in 1962. On 16 June 1963 she flew aboard Vostok 6, becoming the first woman in space, and completed 48 orbits of the Earth in nearly three days. She was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union, and was used as an ambassador for Soviet achievements. She later earned an engineering degree and a doctorate, and became a prominent politician, serving in the Supreme Soviet and later in the Russian State Duma. It took nearly two decades for another woman to fly in space.
Before and after
- 19371937 becomes the warmest year on record
- 20 January 1937Second inauguration of Franklin D. Roosevelt
- 21 February 1937Birth of Harald V of Norway
- 2 March 1937Birth of Abd al-Aziz Boutafliqa
- 6 March 1937Birth of Valentina Tereshkova
- from 31 March 1937 to 1 July 1937Biscay Campaign
- April 1937Construction of Ben Gurion Airport
- 5 April 1937Construction of Václav Havel Airport Prague
- 22 April 1937Birth of Jack Nicholson
More in Exploration & discovery
- 29 May 1914Birth of Tenzing Norgay
- 6 January 1919Death of Theodore Roosevelt
- 20 July 1919Birth of Edmund Hillary
- 21 May 1927Lindbergh flies the Atlantic alone
- 18 June 1928Death of Roald Amundsen
- 5 August 1930Birth of Neil Armstrong
The era
This moment belongs to the Modern era (1914 CE to 1945 CE), world wars and a changing world. You can also browse everything in the 20th century.