Alan Shepard -the first American in Space -May 05,1961

In January 1961, Alan Bartlett Shepard, Jr.(November 18, 1923 – July 21, 1998)an American Naval Aviator,Test Pilot,Flag Officer,NASA Astronaut was chosen for the first American manned mission into space. Although the flight was originally scheduled for October 1960, delays by unplanned preparatory work meant that this was postponed several times, initially to March 6, 1961 and finally to May 5,1961.

On May 5, 1961, Shepard piloted the ''Freedom 7''Mission and became the second person, and the first American, to travel into space (On April 12, 1961,Soviet Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin  had become the first person in space and to orbit the Earth)

After his successful return, Shepard was celebrated as a national hero, honored with parades in Washington, New York and Los Angeles and received the NASA Distinguished Service Medal  from President John F Kennedy