Monkeys to Men

Abstract

An expectant hush descended over the journalists in the conference room of the Dolley Madison House, opposite Lafayette Park in downtown Washington, DC. It was the afternoon of 9 April 1959. Backstage, clad in civilian suits, two of them wearing bow ties, stood the United States’ first team of astronauts — the ‘Mercury Seven’. At 2:00 pm Eastern Standard Time, the presiding officer, Walt Bonney, finally spoke. “Ladies and gentlemen,” he began, “in about 60 seconds, we will give you the announcement you have all been waiting for: the names of the seven volunteers who will become the Mercury astronaut team.”