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Frontier & Sport

Explorers, aviators, astronauts and athletes — Americans who went furthest, fastest or highest.

17 people

Neil Armstrong 1930–2012Exploration, Aviation & SpaceAstronaut who commanded Apollo 11 and became the first person to set foot on the lunar surface.Charles Lindbergh 1902–1974Exploration, Aviation & SpaceAviator who made the first solo nonstop transatlantic flight from New York to Paris in 1927.Buzz Aldrin b. 1930Exploration, Aviation & SpaceApollo 11 lunar module pilot and second person to walk on the Moon.Amelia Earhart 1897–1937Exploration, Aviation & SpaceAviation pioneer and the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.Chuck Yeager 1923–2020Exploration, Aviation & SpaceAir Force test pilot who first exceeded the speed of sound in level flight in 1947.Alan Shepard 1923–1998Exploration, Aviation & SpaceFirst American in space and fifth person to walk on the Moon during Apollo 14.Jim Lovell 1928–2025Exploration, Aviation & SpaceCommander of the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission, whose calm leadership brought the crew home safely.Jimmy Doolittle 1896–1993Exploration, Aviation & SpaceAeronautical engineer, pioneer of instrument flight, and leader of the 1942 raid on TokyoBessie Coleman 1892–1926Exploration, Aviation & SpaceThe first Black woman and first Native American woman to hold a pilot's licenseGus Grissom 1926–1967Exploration, Aviation & SpaceOne of the original Mercury Seven astronauts who died in the Apollo 1 fire.Eddie Rickenbacker 1890–1973Exploration, Aviation & SpaceWorld War I ace of aces and longtime head of Eastern Air LinesRichard Byrd 1888–1957Exploration, Aviation & SpaceNaval officer and explorer who claimed to be the first to reach the North Pole by air.John Young 1930–2018Exploration, Aviation & SpaceSix spaceflights across three programmes, a walk on the Moon, and command of the first Space Shuttle launch.Ed White 1930–1967Exploration, Aviation & SpaceGemini 4 astronaut who performed the first American spacewalk, dying in the Apollo 1 fire.Wally Schirra 1923–2007Exploration, Aviation & SpaceOnly astronaut to fly in the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs.Deke Slayton 1924–1993Exploration, Aviation & SpaceOne of the original Mercury Seven who later directed astronaut selection and flew on the Apollo-Soyuz mission.David Scott b. 1932Exploration, Aviation & SpaceApollo 15 commander who conducted the first extended scientific exploration of the lunar surface.