4th of July Celebrations Around SoCal
Thousands gather in downtown Los Angeles for July 4th celebrations, while astronaut Sally Ride is honored at the Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley.
Simi Valley, Calif. , Lots of History Honored at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library Simi Valley This 4th of July,
In addition to the usual Independence Day celebrations, the library unveiled a life-size bronze bust of astronaut Sally Ride. Ride was the first American woman and the third woman to go into space aboard the Challenger shuttle in 1983.
Ride was born in Los Angeles in 1951 and died in San Diego in 2012 at the age of 61.
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At the statue’s unveiling on Tuesday, her sister “Bear” Ride said that “she always had a feeling she was seven feet tall. And now I have proof,” adding that her sister was “a trailblazer and Was a hero to many.”
Sally Ride has also been honored with a US postage stamp in 2018, and is featured on US quarters in 2022 as part of the American Women series.
The new statue honoring the late astrophysicist is located in the Peace Through Strength Pavilion at the Reagan Library.