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Updated July 25, 2012, 2:28 pm
On July 26, 1947, President Truman signed the National Security Act, creating the Department of Defense, the National Security Council, the Central Intelligence Agency and the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
On July 26, 1875, Carl (Gustav) Jung , one of the founders of analytic psychology, was born. Following his death on June 6, 1961, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » | Other birthdays »
On This Date
By The Associated Press
1788 New York became the 11th state to ratify the Constitution. 1856 Playwright George Bernard Shaw was born in Dublin, Ireland. 1945 Winston Churchill resigned as Britain’s prime minister after his Conservatives were soundly defeated by the Labor Party. He was succeeded by Clement Attlee. 1947 President Harry S. Truman signed the National Security Act, creating the Department of Defense, the National Security Council, the Central Intelligence Agency and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. 1948 President Harry S. Truman signed executive orders prohibiting discrimination in the U.S. armed forces and federal employment. 1952 Adlai E. Stevenson was nominated for president by the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. 1956 Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal. 1964 Teamsters president Jimmy Hoffa and six others were convicted of fraud and conspiracy in the handling of a union pension fund. 1971 Apollo 15 was launched on a manned mission to the moon. 1990 The House of Representatives reprimanded Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., for ethics violations. 1990 President George H.W. Bush signed into law the Americans with Disabilities Act. 1990 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that a young woman – later identified as Kimberly Bergalis of Florida – had been infected with the AIDS virus, apparently by her dentist. 2000 A federal judge approved a $1.25 billion settlement between Swiss banks and more than a half million plaintiffs who alleged the banks had hoarded money deposited by Holocaust victims. 2006 A jury in Houston found Andrea Yates not guilty by reason of insanity in the drowning of her children in a bathtub in the second trial she faced on the charges; she was committed to a state mental hospital. Current Birthdays
By The Associated Press
Actor Kevin Spacey turns 53 years old today.
AP Photo/Chris Pizzello
Actress Helen Mirren turns 67 years old today.
AP Photo/Evan Agostini
1918 Marjorie Lord, Actress (“Make Room for Daddy”), turns 94 1939 Bob Lilly, Football Hall of Famer, turns 73 1941 Darlene Love, R&B singer, actress, turns 71 1943 Mick Jagger, Rock singer (Rolling Stones), turns 69 1943 Mike McConnell, Former director of national intelligence, turns 69 1949 Roger Taylor, Rock musician (Queen), turns 63 1950 Susan George, Actress, turns 62 1956 Dorothy Hamill, Figure skater, turns 56 1964 Sandra Bullock, Actress, turns 48 1965 Jeremy Piven, Actor (“Entourage”), turns 47 1971 Chris Harrison, TV host (“The Bachelor”), turns 41 1973 Kate Beckinsale, Actress, turns 39
Historic Birthdays
Carl (Gustav) Jung 7/26/1875 – 6/6/1961 Swiss founder of analytic psychology.Go to obituary »
94 George Bernard Shaw 7/26/1856 – 11/2/1950
Playwright69 Aldous Huxley 7/26/1894 – 11/22/1963Philosopher, satirist and author 62 Gracie Allen 7/26/1902 – 8/27/1964
Vaudeville, radio, television and stage actress70 Vivian Vance 7/26/1909 – 8/17/1979
Actress (”I Love Lucy”)79 Erskine Hawkins 7/26/1914 – 11/11/1993
Jazz trumpeter78 Jason Robards
7/26/1922 – 12/26/2000
Actor70 Stanley Kubrick
7/26/1928 – 3/7/1999
Film director
What Leaders Can Learn from the Life of Sally Ride July 24 2012
Sally Ride, the United States’ first woman astronaut, died too soon this week at the age of 61. In 2012, it’s perhaps easy to forget what she was up against when she rode into space on the shuttle Challenger in 1983. As the New York Times pointed out in its obituary of Ride, the comedian Johnny Carson joked on the Tonight Show that Ride would probably delay the shuttle launch while looking for a purse to match her shoes. It wasn’t funny then or now.
Ride was a woman and a person to be taken seriously. She was smart, determined and not one to allow biases to hold her back. In obvious and not so obvious ways, she was a pioneering role model of a leader. A close read of the Times’ obit on Ride yields a number of lessons for leaders from her life.
Here are three that I noticed:
See Yourself in the Role: Ride became an astronaut after responding to a recruiting ad she read when she was a student at Stanford. With degrees in physics, astrophysics and English, Ride recalled that she read the qualifications from NASA and said, “I’m one of those people.” It didn’t matter that she didn’t fit the gender stereotype (or, for that matter, the age expectations – when she flew at age 32 she was also the youngest U.S. astronaut in space). One of the core challenges for leaders is to confidently see themselves in the role. Ride did that and more.
Stay Flexible: After being accepted into the astronaut corps, Ride switched her academic focus from physics to engineering because she thought that would have more application in her new profession. She went on to help develop the space shuttle’s robotic arm and was chosen for the Challenger crew by its commander in part because of her proficiency with the device. Leaders consistently face changing requirements to achieve the goal. The successful ones stay flexible and adapt to the situation.
Seek the Full Story: Ride was the only person to serve on the investigative boards for both the Challenger and Columbia shuttle disasters. She balanced her love for the space program and loyalty to NASA with tough questions during the hearings and support for witnesses who had the courage to say what went wrong and why. It can be tough for leaders to get the full story because people often tell them what they think they want to hear. Sally Ride didn’t settle for anything less than the full story.
What leadership qualities do you admire the most from the life of Sally Ride?
via eblingroup.com
