June 7th

06-07-1979   Anne McClain – Born in Spokane, Washington. She is a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army of Engineers and a NASA astronaut. She was the Flight Engineer for Expedition 58/59 to the International Space Station. McClain spent just over 203 days in space. McClain married Summer Worden in 2014 and was step-mother to Worden’s son. McClain and Worden divorced in August 2017. On August 23, 2019, The New York Times reported that Worden had filed a complaint against McClain accusing her of illegally accessing financial information while she was on the International Space Station. Worden’s accusation outed McClain as a lesbian, making her the second known LGBT astronaut after Sally Ride. On April 7, 2020, McClain was cleared of all charges and Worden faces a two-count indictment on charges of making false statements. 

06-07-1831 – 04-15-1892   Amelia Edwards – Born in London, England. She was an English novelist, journalist, traveller, and Egyptologist. Her most successful literary works include The Phantom Coach (1864), Barbara’s History (1864), Lord Brackenbury (1880), and the Egyptian travelogue A Thousand Miles Up the Nile (1877). In 1882, she co-founded the Egypt Exploration Fund. Between 1889 – 1890, she took on a lecture tour in the United States. Her life partner of 30 years was Ellen Drew Braysher.  Edwards died from influenza in 1892.

06-07-1943 Nikki Giovanni – Born in Knoxville, Tennessee. She is an American writer, commentator, activist, and educator. Giovanni is one of the world’s most well-known African American poets. Her work includes poetry anthologies, poetry recording, and nonfiction essays. Topics range from race and social issues to children’s literature. Since 1987, she has taught writing and literature at Virginia Tech, where she is a University Distinguished Professor. She has received the NAACP Image Award several times and has twenty honorary doctorates. Her many awards include the Rosa Parks and the Langston Hughes Award for Distinguished Contributions to Arts and Letters. She is openly lesbian.

06-07-1899 – 02-22-1973 Elizabeth Bowen, CBE – Born in Dublin, Ireland. She was an Anglo-Irish novelist and short story writer. In 1923 she married Alan Cameron. The marriage has been described as “a sexless but contented union.” The marriage was reportedly never consummated. She had various extra-marital affairs with both men and women, including the American poet May Sarton. Bowen’s war novel The Heat of the Day (1948 in England & 1949 in the United States) is considered one of the definitive depictions of London during the bombing raids of WWII.

06-07-1956 Robert Dover – Born in Chicago, Illinois. He is an American champion equestrian who has had international success in the sport of dressage. He has competed in six consecutive Olympics, winning four team bronze medals. He also took team bronze at the 1994 World Equestrian Games. Dover is the most honored dressage rider in the United States and has been inducted to the United States Dressage Federation Hall of Fame. He is openly gay, and his partner is fellow rider, Robert Ross.