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Quick Facts
- NAME: Mae C. Jemison
- OCCUPATION: Astronaut, Doctor, Scientist
- BIRTH DATE: October 17, 1956 (Age: 56)
- EDUCATION: Morgan Park High School, Stanford University, Cornell University Medical College
- PLACE OF BIRTH: Decatur, Alabama
- Full Name: Mae Carol Jemison
- AKA: Mae C. Jemison
- ZODIAC SIGN: Libra
Best Known For
Doctor Mae C. Jemison is the first African-American woman ever to be a U.S. astronaut. In 1992, she flew into space aboard the Endeavour.
Videos see all videos
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Mae Jemison - Mini Biography (2:23)
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Sally Ride - Mini Biography (3:01)
Mae Jemison - Mini Biography
A short biography of Mae Jemison, who became the first African American woman in space when she thrust into orbit on the shuttle Endeavour in 1992.
Sally Ride - Mini Biography
Sally Ride studied at Stanford University before beating out 1000 other applicants for a spot in NASA's astronaut program. Ride joined the Challenger shuttle mission on June 18, 1983, and became the first American woman in space.
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Play NowMae C. Jemison. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 03:35, May 19, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/mae-c-jemison-9542378.
Mae C. Jemison. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/mae-c-jemison-9542378 [Accessed 19 May 2013].
"Mae C. Jemison." 2013. The Biography Channel website. May 19 2013, 03:35 http://www.biography.com/people/mae-c-jemison-9542378.
"Mae C. Jemison," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/mae-c-jemison-9542378 [accessed May 19, 2013].
"Mae C. Jemison," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/mae-c-jemison-9542378 (accessed May 19, 2013).
Mae C. Jemison [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 May 19] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/mae-c-jemison-9542378.
Mae C. Jemison, http://www.biography.com/people/mae-c-jemison-9542378 (last visited May 19, 2013).
Mae C. Jemison. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/mae-c-jemison-9542378. Accessed May 19, 2013.
Synopsis
Mae C. Jemison was born on October 17, 1956, in Decatur, Alabama. On June 4, 1987, she became the first African-American woman ever admitted into the astronaut training program. On September 12, 1992, Jemison finally flew into space with six other astronauts aboard the Endeavour on mission STS47. In recognition of her accomplishments, Jemison received several awards and honorary doctorates.
Contents
Quotes
"Never limit yourself because of others' limited imagination; never limit others because of your own limited imagination."
Early Life
Astronaut and physician Mae Jemison was born on October 17, 1956, in Decatur, Alabama, the youngest child of Charlie Jemison, a roofer and carpenter, and Dorothy (Green) Jemison, an elementary school teacher. Her sister, Ada Jemison Bullock, became a child psychiatrist, and her brother, Charles Jemison, is a real estate broker. The family moved to Chicago, Illinois, when Jemison was 3 years old to take advantage of better educational opportunities there, and it is that city that she calls her hometown.
Throughout her early school years, Jemison's parents were supportive and encouraging of her talents and abilities, and she spent a considerable amount of time in her school library reading about all aspects of science, especially astronomy. During her time at Morgan Park High School, she became convinced she wanted to pursue a career in biomedical engineering, and when she graduated in 1973 as a consistent honor student, she entered Stanford University on a National Achievement Scholarship.
Initial Career Choice
As she had been in high school, Jemison was very involved in extracurricular activities at Stanford, including dance and theater productions, and served as head of the Black Student Union. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering from the university in 1977. Upon graduation, she entered Cornell University Medical College and, during her years there, found time to expand her horizons by studying in Cuba and Kenya and working at a Cambodian rfugee camp in Thailand.
After she obtained her M.D. in 1981, Jemison interned at Los Angeles County/University of Southern California Medical Center and later worked as a general practitioner. For the next two and a half years, she was the area Peace Corps medical officer for Sierra Leone and Liberia where she also taught and did medical research. Following her return to the United States in 1985, Jemison made a career change and decided to follow a dream she had nurtured for a long time. In October of that year, she applied for admission to NASA's astronaut training program. The Challenger disaster of January 1986 delayed the selection process, but when she reapplied a year later, Jemison was one of the 15 candidates chosen from a field of about 2,000.
First African-American Female Astronaut
When Jemison was chosen on June 4, 1987, she became the first African-American woman admitted into the astronaut training program. She became an astronaut after more than a year of training, earning the title of science mission specialist, a job that would make her responsible for conducting crew-related scientific experiments on the space shuttle.
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