July 21

Antoine Bruni d'Entrecasteaux (1739–1793) was a French rear admiral and pioneering explorer who led a major expedition to locate the missing voyage of Jean-François de La Pérouse. His voyage charted parts of the Australian coast and the islands of the Pacific, significantly advancing European knowledge of the region. D'Entrecasteaux combined scientific inquiry with naval discipline, carrying naturalists and artists on board to document flora, fauna, and indigenous cultures. Despite his efforts, the fate of La Pérouse remained a mystery, and D'Entrecasteaux died suddenly on Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania). His journals and maps remained valuable resources for later navigators and cartographers.

Born in 1923, Shepard graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and became a naval aviator before joining NASA's original astronaut corps in 1959. On May 5, 1961, he piloted the Freedom 7 mission, becoming the first American in space. Shepard suffered from an inner-ear disorder but recovered to command Apollo 14 in 1971, walking nearly 7 kilometers on the lunar surface. He achieved the rank of rear admiral and served as Chief of the Astronaut Office. Shepard's pioneering spirit and leadership helped shape the U.S. human spaceflight program and inspired a generation of explorers.