Christa McAuliffe

Christa McAuliffe (1948 to 1986) was an American social studies teacher from Concord, New Hampshire, chosen in 1985 from more than 11,000 applicants for NASA's Teacher in Space Project. She earned a bachelor's degree in education and history from Framingham State College and a master's degree in education supervision and administration from Bowie State University, and she taught American history, civics, English, law and economics in Maryland and New Hampshire, including a course she designed called The American Woman. Her classroom approach used field trips and visiting speakers and stressed the part ordinary people play in history. She was to teach lessons from orbit aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger, but all seven crew members died when it broke apart on January 28, 1986. Many schools and educational centers have since been named for her.