Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space.

Tereshkova, born on this day in 1937, wasn’t your average astronaut—not just because she was the first woman in space. With no previous experience as a pilot, she volunteered for the Soviet space program in 1961 after Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space. She was accepted because of her hobby: she had made 126 parachute jumps, valuable experience as cosmonauts had to swiftly parachute from their capsules during the return to earth. She was the only woman chosen of the five women who were accepted as prospective cosmonauts after 18 months of testing and training.
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