Guy Bluford, the first African American to fly in space, will make appearance Monday at SIUE

EDWARDSVILLE - The first African American to fly in space - U.S. Air Force Col. Guion "Guy" Bluford, Jr., PhD., - will make an appearance at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville's Arts & Issues event at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 19.

The presentation will be held at Morris University's Center's (MUC) Meridian Ballroom.

Bluford was the first African American to be awarded NASA’s coveted Astronaut Pin and the Air Force’s Command Pilot Astronaut Wings. He was inducted into the International Space Hall of Fame in 1997 and the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame in 2010.

Bluford has logged more than 5,200 hours in high-performance jet aircraft and has flown 688 hours in space on four Space Shuttle missions. He flew 144 combat missions in Southeast Asia as an F-4C fighter pilot, with 65 missions over North Vietnam.

Bluford received his doctor of philosophy degree in aerospace engineering with a minor in laser physics from the Air Force Institute of Technology in 1978.

More like this:

Duckworth Secures Senate Armed Services Provisions for Illinois Bases, Rock Island Arsenal, and Quantum Research

Jun 15, 2026

On This Day: Ed White’s 1965 Spacewalk Headlines a Packed June 3 in History

Jun 3, 2026

May 5 in History: Napoleon's Death, Spaceflight and Political Turning Points

May 5, 2026

June 16 in History: Tereshkova’s Space First, Lincoln’s Warning and the Soweto Uprising

6 days ago

“Resilience Reimagined” Retreat to Amplify the Voices and Service of Women Veterans

Jun 1, 2026