June 07

Stjepan Seljan was born in 1875 in Istria, then part of Austria-Hungary. He trained as an engineer before turning to exploration. Between 1905 and 1909, he led expeditions into the Amazon Basin, mapping previously uncharted rivers. He documented the cultures and geographies of indigenous tribes in Brazil and Colombia. Later, he organized and led expeditions in Africa, broadening geographic knowledge. His published travelogues and detailed maps contributed significantly to early 20th-century exploration. Seljan died on June 7, 1936, leaving a legacy as a pioneering adventurer.

William Anders was born in 1933 in Hong Kong to American parents and later joined the U.S. Air Force as a fighter pilot. He was selected as an astronaut in 1963 as part of NASA's third group and trained for lunar missions. In December 1968, Anders flew on Apollo 8, capturing the iconic Earthrise photograph while orbiting the Moon. His role as lunar module pilot contributed to humanity's first close-up views of the lunar surface and Earth from space. After leaving NASA, he served as Vice President at General Dynamics and as U.S. Ambassador to Norway. Anders passed away in 2024, remembered for his pioneering contributions to space exploration.