Out Astronaut Dr. Sally Ride Receives a New Honor
Astronaut Sally Ride will be one of five American women to appear in on a quarter. The Dr. Sally Ride Quarter is the second coin in the “American Women Quarters Program.” The pioneering space traveler will be the first out LGBTQ person to appear on U.S. currency.
The reverse (tails) side of the coin depicts Dr. Sally Ride next to a window on the space shuttle, inspired by her quote, “But when I wasn’t working, I was usually at the window looking down on Earth.” The inscription “E PLURIBUS UNUM” is intentionally positioned over the Earth next to America, indicating that out of all women in the United States, Dr. Ride was the first into space.
Ride soared into space aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger on June 18, 1983, and at the age of 32, become the youngest American in space. After her historic flight, Ride teamed up with Tam O’Shaughnessy to write six inspiring children’s books, including “The Third Planet: Exploring the Earth from Space,” winner of the American Institute of Physics’ Children’s Science Writing Award in 1995. The two would eventually team up again to start an education company to inspire young people, especially girls, in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).
Ride’s sexual orientation was unknown until she passed away from cancer in 2012. Her obituary revealed that she was survived by her female partner of 27 years.
In 2013, President Barack Obama awarded Ride a posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Poet Maya Angelou, Asian American actress Anna May Wong, Cherokee Nation leader Wilma Mankiller, and suffragette Nina Otero-Warren will also appear on the special series of coins.
