Roberto Baggio, an Italian former professional footballer who played as a second striker, or as an attacking midfielder. In 1993, he was named FIFA World Player of the Year and won the Ballon d'Or. In 2004, he was named by Pelé in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players

Roberto Baggio (Italian pronunciation: [roˈbɛrto ˈbaddʒo]; born 18 February 1967) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a second striker, or as an attacking midfielder. He is the former President of the technical sector ofItalian Football Federation. A technically gifted, creative playmaker and a set piece specialist renowned for his curling free kicks and goalscoring, Baggio is regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time.^{[2][3][4][5][6][7]} In 1999 he came fourth in the FIFA Player of the Century internet poll, and was chosen on the FIFA World Cup Dream Team in 2002.^[8][9] In 1993, he was named FIFA World Player of the Year and won the Ballon d'Or. In 2004, he was named by Pelé in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players.^[10]
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Baggio played for Italy in 56 matches, scoring 27 goals, and is the fourth highest goalscorer for his national team. He starred in the Italian team that finished third in the 1990 FIFA World Cup, scoring twice. At the 1994 FIFA World Cup he led Italy to the final, scoring five goals, received the World Cup Silver Ball and was named in the World Cup All-Star Team. Although he was the star performer for Italy at the 1994 World Cup, he is largely remembered for missing the decisive penalty in the shootout of the Final against Brazil.^[3] At the 1998 FIFA World Cup he scored twice, before Italy were eliminated to eventual champions France in the quarter-finals. Baggio is the only Italian to score in three World Cups, and with nine goals holds the record for most goals scored in World Cup tournaments for Italy, along with Paolo Rossi and Christian Vieri.^[11]
At club level, Baggio is one of the top ten scoring Italians in all competitions.^[12][13] In 2002, he became the first Italian player in over 50 years to score more than 300 career goals; he is currently the fourth-highest scoring Italian in all competitions with 318 goals.^[14] In 2004, during the final season of his career, Baggio became the first player in over 30 years to score 200 goals in Serie A, and is currently the 7th highest goalscorer of all time in Serie A, with 205 goals.^[15] In 1990, he moved from Fiorentina to Juventus for a world record transfer fee.^[16] Baggio has won two Serie A titles, a Coppa Italia and a UEFA Cup, playing for seven different teams during his career.
Baggio is known as Il Divin Codino (The Divine Ponytail), for the hairstyle he wore for most of his career, for his talent, and for his Buddhist beliefs.^[17] In 2002, Baggio was nominated Goodwill Ambassador of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. In 2003, he was the inaugural winner of the "Golden Foot" award. In recognition of his human rights activism, he received the Man of Peace award from the Nobel Peace Prize Laureates in 2010. He was inducted into the Italian Football Hall of Fame in 2011.

Andrei Pleșu, a Romanian philosopher, essayist, journalist, literary and art critic

Andrei Gabriel Pleșu is a Romanian philosopher, essayist, journalist, literary and art critic. He has been intermittently involved in politics assuming the roles of Minister of Culture (1989-91), Minister of Foreign Affairs (1997-99) and presidential counsellor for external affairs (2004-05).

Born in Bucharest, the son of Radu Pleșu, a surgeon and Zoe Pleșu (born Rădulescu), he spent much of his early youth in the country side. He started school in Sinaia, but attended the village school in Pârscov, in the Nehoiu Valley from 1955 to 1957, and often returned to the mountains during school holidays.^[1] Pleșu attended the Spiru Haret Lyceum in Bucharest majoring in humanities, where he graduated at the top of his class.

Pleșu studied art history at the University of Bucharest and graduated with his bachelor's in 1971. That year, he accepted a post as a researcher at the Institute of Art History of the Romanian Academy. In 1972 he married Catrinel Maria Petrulian. While a student, he became a member of the Communist Party, from which he was expelled in May 1982 due to his involvement in the so-called "Transcendental Meditation Affair". For 1975–1977 he received the first of his Alexander von Humboldt Foundation graduate scholarships to study in Bonn and Heidelberg. From 1978 through 1982, along with Gabriel Liiceanu, he attended Constantin Noica's informal and semi-clandestine lectures in Păltiniș. In 1980 he became a faculty lecturer in the Art department at the University of Bucharest. However in 1982 he was barred from further university teaching for "political reasons", and took a job as a consultant for the Artists Union. He received his second Alexander von Humboldt Foundation for 1983–1984, and upon his return again worked at the Institute of Art History.
In April 1989, Pleșu lost his job at the Institute of Art History due to his open support of Mircea Dinescu, objected to by the communist regime. This resulted in his "exile" to Tescani, a village in Berești-Tazlău commune, Bacău County, and he was forbidden from publishing. After the Romanian Revolution of 1989 he was one of the founders of the "New Europe College" an institute of advanced studies, and of the cultural magazine Dilema (now Dilema Veche). He worked as a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bucharest and is now a professor at the University of Bucharest, where he teaches art history and philosophy of religion. He continues to be successful as a writer, and his books have all been well received by critics and readers.
He also became involved in politics, serving as Romania's Minister of Culture from 1990 to 1991, and foreign minister from 1997 to 1999. Between 2000 and 2004, Pleșu was a member of the National College for the Study of the Securitate Archives; he resigned the latter office in protest against political pressures on the committee. After the 2004 elections brought Traian Băsescu to the office of President of Romania, he became presidential counsellor for external affairs, a position he held until June 2005, when he resigned invoking health issues.
Two volumes were published in 2009, honoring Pleșu, both edited by Mihail Neamțu and Bogdan Tătaru-Cazaban. The first was O filozofie a intervalului: In Honorem Andrei Pleșu (A Philosophy of the Interval: In Honor of Andrei Plesu) entirely in Romanian, and the second was an international Festschrift in honor of Pleșu's sixtieth birthday, with essays exploring the themes of his life in the current context.

Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner aka Sting, an English musician, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, activist, actor, and philanthropist. He was the principal songwriter, lead singer, and bassist for the new wave rock band the Police from 1977 to 1983, before launching a solo career

Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner CBE (born 2 October 1951), known professionally by his stage name Sting, is an English musician, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, activist, actor, and philanthropist. He was the principal songwriter, lead singer, and bassist for the new wave rock band the Police from 1977 to 1983, before launching a solo caree. He has included elements of rock, jazz, reggae, classical, new-age and worldbeat in his music.^[1] As a solo musician and a member of the Police, he has received 16 Grammy Awards (his first in the category of best rock instrumental in 1980, for "Regatta de Blanc"), three Brit Awards, including Best British Male in 1994 and Outstanding Contribution in 2002,^[2] a Golden Globe, an Emmy, and three Academy Award nominations for Best Original Song. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2002 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Police in 2003. In 2000, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for recording. In 2003, Sting received a CBE from Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace for services to music, and was made a Kennedy Center Honoree at the White House in 2014.
With the Police, Sting became one of the world's best-selling music artists. Solo and with the Police combined, he has sold over 100 million records.^[3] In 2006, Paste ranked him 62nd of the 100 best living songwriters.^[4] He was 63rd of VH1's 100 greatest artists of rock,^[5] and 80th of Q magazine's 100 greatest musical stars of 20th century.^[6] He has collaborated with other musicians, including "Rise & Fall" with Craig David, "All for Love", with Bryan Adams and Rod Stewart, and introduced the North African music genre raï to Western audiences by his international hit "Desert Rose" with Cheb Mami.

Sting married actress Frances Tomelty from Northern Ireland, on 1 May 1976. Before they divorced in 1984, they had two children: Joseph (born 23 November 1976) and Fuchsia Katherine ("Kate", born 17 April 1982). In 1980, Sting became a tax exile^{[100][101][102]} in Galway in Ireland. In 1982, after the birth of his second child, he separated from Tomelty and began living with actress and film producer Trudie Styler. The couple married on 22 August 1992 in an 11th-century chapel in Wiltshire, south-west England.^[103] Sting and Styler have four children: Brigitte Michael ("Mickey", born 19 January 1984), Jake (born 24 May 1985), Eliot Pauline (nicknamed Coco", born 30 July 1990), and Giacomo Luke (born 17 December 1995). Coco is singer and founder of the London group I Blame Coco. Giacomo Luke is the inspiration behind the name of Kentucky Derby-winning horse Giacomo.^[104]
Sting said his children will not inherit his £180m fortune, fearing his riches are "albatrosses round their necks", that "there won't be much money left because we are spending it."^[105] The Sunday Times Rich List of 2011 estimated Sting to be one of the 10 wealthiest people in British music.^[106]
Both of Sting's parents died from cancer in the 1980s (his mother in 1986 and his father in 1987). He did not attend either funeral, saying the media would be disrespectful to his parents.^[107]
In 1995, Sting prepared for a court appearance against his former accountant who had misappropriated several million pounds of his money.^[108] Sting owns several homes worldwide, including Lake House and its 60 acre estate near Salisbury, Wiltshire; a cottage in the Lake District; a New York City flat; a beach house in Malibu; a 600-acre (2.4 km²) estate in Tuscany, Italy;^[109] and a flat on the Mall, and an 18th-century terrace house in Highgate.^[110]

Rivaldo, a Brazilian former professional footballer and the current president of Mogi Mirim Esporte Clube in Brazil. He was named in the FIFA World Cup All-Star Team in 1998 and 2002

Rivaldo Vítor Borba Ferreira (born 19 April 1972), known as Rivaldo (Brazilian Portuguese: [ʁiˈvawdu]), is a Brazilian former professional footballer and the current president of Mogi Mirim Esporte Clube in Brazil. He played mainly as a attacking midfielder but also as a second striker. Although primarily left footed, he was capable of playing on either flank, and was on occasion deployed as a wide midfielder or as a winger, also due to his pace, technique, vision, and crossing ability.^[1][2]
He spent five years with Spanish club Barcelona, where he formed a successful partnership with Patrick Kluivert, and won the 1998 and 1999 Spanish La Liga championship and the 1998 Copa del Rey.
From 1993 and 2003, Rivaldo played 74 matches and scored 35 goals for Brazil and is the seventh highest goalscorer.^[3] He helped Brazil reach the final of the 1998 FIFA World Cup, and won the 1999 Copa América where he was named player of the tournament. Rivaldo starred alongside Ronaldo and Ronaldinho in the 2002 FIFA World Cup winning team. He was named in the FIFA World Cup All-Star Team in 1998 and 2002.
One of the most skillful and creative players of his generation, Rivaldo was renowned for his bending free kicks, overhead kicks, ball striking from distance, dribbling, passing and close ball control.^[1][2] In 1999 he won the Ballon d'Or and was named FIFA World Player of the Year.^[4] In 2004 he was named in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players.^[5] He is an inductee to the Brazilian Football Museum Hall of Fame. In March 2014, Rivaldo announced his retirement from professional football,^[6] however since June 2015 he made appearances for Mogi Mirim.^[7] On August 14, 2015, he however announced that the comeback was over and that he was retiring once again; this due to persistant injuries.

Suzanne Vega, an American singer-songwriter known for her eclectic folk-inspired music

Suzanne Nadine Vega (born July 11, 1959) is an American singer-songwriter known for her eclectic folk-inspired music.
Two of Vega's songs (both from her second album Solitude Standing, 1987) reached the top 10 of various international chart listings: "Luka" and "Tom's Diner". The latter was originally an a cappella version on Vega's album, which was then remade in 1990 as a dance track produced by the British dance production team DNA.
Vega has released eight studio albums to date, the latest of which is Tales from the Realm of the Queen of Pentacles, released in 2014.

Vega's song "Tom's Diner" was used as the reference track in an early trial of the MP3 compression system, thus earning her the distinction of being named "The Mother of the MP3".^[26] Because it is an a cappella vocal with relatively little reverberation, it was used as the model for Karlheinz Brandenburg's sound compression algorithm.^[27] Brandenburg heard "Tom's Diner" on a radio playing the song and was excited and at first convinced it would be "nearly impossible to compress this warm a cappella voice."^[28]
"Tom's Diner" takes place in Tom's Restaurant at 112th Street and Broadway in New York City. Exterior shots of the same restaurant appear in the television sitcom Seinfeld as Monk's, which is the eatery where Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer hang out. The DNA remix of the track was so popular that it inspired many cover versions—the best of which were eventually collected by Vega on an album titled Tom's Album.^[27] The remixed version of "Tom's Diner" was later sampled by hip hop artist Nikki D in her single "Daddy's Little Girl". Rapper Tupac Shakur sampled the track in "Dopefiend's Diner".

Paolo Rossi, an Italian former footballer, who played as a forward. In 1982, he led Italy to the 1982 FIFA World Cup title, scoring six goals to win the Golden Boot as top goalscorer, and the Golden Ball for the player of the tournament

Paolo Rossi (Italian pronunciation: [ˈpaolo ˈrossi]; born 23 September 1956) is an Italian former footballer, who played as a forward. In 1982, he led Italy to the 1982 FIFA World Cup title, scoring six goals to win the Golden Boot as top goalscorer, and Golden Ball for the player of the tournament. Rossi is one of only three players to have won all three awards at a World Cup, along with Garrincha in 1962, and Mario Kempes in 1978. Rossi was also awarded the 1982 Ballon d'Or as the European Footballer of the Year for his performances. Along with Roberto Baggio and Christian Vieri, he is Italy's top scorer in World Cup history, with 9 goals in total.^[2]
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At club level, Rossi was also a prolific goalscorer for Vicenza. In 1976 he was signed to Juventus from Vicenza in a co-ownership deal for a world record transfer fee.^[3] Vicenza retained his services, and he was top goalscorer in Serie B in 1977, leading his team to promotion to Serie A. The following season, Rossi scored 24 goals, to become the first player to top the scoring charts in Serie B and Serie A in consecutive seasons. In 1981 Rossi made his debut for Juventus, and went on to win two Scudetto titles, the Italian Cup, UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, UEFA Super Cup and the European Cup.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest Italian strikers of all time, in 2004 Rossi was named by Pelé as one of the Top 125 greatest living footballers as part of FIFA's 100th anniversary celebration.^[4] In the same year, Rossi placed 12 in the UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll. Since retiring, Rossi has gone into sports journalism and punditry. He currently works as a pundit for Juventus Channel.

Robert H. Jackson, an American photographer. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Photography for his photograph of the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald by Jack Ruby

Robert "Bob" Hill Jackson (born April 8, 1934) is an American photographer. In 1964, Jackson, then of the Dallas Times-Herald, was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Photography for his photograph of the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald by Jack Ruby.
 
Jackson said his interest in photography began when he was 12 or 13. He grew up in Dallas. An aunt gave him a Baby Brownie Special camera to give him his start, and a family cat became one of his first subjects. When Jackson turned 14, his interest became more serious. Another aunt gave him an Argus C-3 35 mm camera. Jackson’s first news photo was of a double fatality crash in northern Dallas. Jackson persuaded his father to drive him to the scene of the crash. His second news photo was of an airplane crash at Love Field.
His photography interest grew when he became hooked on photographing sports car racing. Prior to joining the 36th Infantry National Guard, Jackson attended Southern Methodist University but did not graduate. While in the Army, Jackson became a photographer for an Army general and further developed his portfolio.


On Nov. 22, 1963, Jackson was assigned to cover President John F. Kennedy's arrival at Love Field and his motorcade through the city. Jackson and many other journalists traveled with the President and first lady from the airport. He was in the eighth vehicle behind the presidential limousine as the motorcade headed down Elm Street. Jackson was sitting atop the back seat of the convertible as the motorcade approached Dealey Plaza. He was in the process of changing film when the shots were fired; but his camera was empty. He had just removed a roll of film to hand-off to another newspaper employee, and had not yet reloaded. However, he was among the few people who saw the rifle barrel in the window of the book depository. After the assassination, Jackson remained in Delay Plaza, but took no more photos, something he later regretted.
Two days later, Jackson was told to go to the police station to photograph the transfer of Oswald to the county jail. Using his Nikon S3 35mm camera, Jackson photographed the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald in the Dallas police station garage

Igor Volk, a retired cosmonaut and test pilot in the Soviet Union. He is also an inventor

Igor Petrovich Volk (Russian: Игорь Петрович Волк; born April 12, 1937 in Zmiiv, Kharkiv Oblast, USSR) is a retired cosmonaut and test pilot in the Soviet Union. He is married and has two children.
Igor Volk was selected as a cosmonaut on July 30, 1980, flew as Research Cosmonaut on Soyuz T-12, the 7th expedition to Salyut 7. One goal of the mission was to test the effects of long-duration spaceflight on Volk's return flight piloting as a precursor to piloting the Space Shuttle Buran. He served as the head of the cosmonauts training for the Buran program and since the project's cancellation, as a Flight Tests Deputy at the Gromov Flight Research Institute in 1995 before retiring in 1996. He has previously served as President of the National Aero Club of Russia and Vice President of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. As recognition for his contributions as a test pilot and cosmonaut he was awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union on July 29, 1984.
He is also an inventor and is planning a new four-person concept flying car called the Lark-4 which takes off and lands at 45 km/h (28 mph) using a 27-meter (89 feet) runway. It consumes 11 litres (3 gallons) of fuel for every 100 km (62 mi) traveled and cruises at around 637 km/h (396 mph).
He was the first to perform the high angle pitch control maneuver on thge Su-27 prototype known as the cobra maneuver, now known as Pugachev's Cobra after the pilot who first performed it publicly.

Honours and awards

• Title of Hero of the Soviet Union
• Title of Pilot-Cosmonaut of the USSR
• Title of Honoured Test Pilot of the USSR
• Order For Merit to the Fatherland 4th class
• Order of Lenin (USSR)
• Order of the Red Banner of Labour (USSR)
• Order of Friendship of Peoples (USSR)
• Medal "For Merit in Space Exploration"
  

Bobby Charlton, an English former football player, regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time, and an essential member of the England team who won the World Cup in 1966, the year he also won the Ballon d'Or

Sir Robert "Bobby" Charlton CBE (born 11 October 1937) is an English former football player, regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time, and an essential member of the England team who won the World Cup in 1966, the year he also won the Ballon d'Or. He played almost all of his club football at Manchester United, where he became renowned for his attacking instincts and passing abilities from midfield and his ferocious long-range shot. He was also well known for his fitness and stamina. He was cautioned only twice in his career; once against Argentina in the 1966 World Cup, and once in a league match against Chelsea. His elder brother Jack, who was also in the World Cup-winning team, is a former defender for Leeds United and international manager.
Born in Ashington, Northumberland, Charlton made his debut for the Manchester United first-team in 1956, and over the next two seasons gained a regular place in the team, during which time he survived the Munich air disaster of 1958 after being rescued by Harry Gregg. After helping United to win the Football League in 1965, he won a World Cup medal with England in 1966 and another Football League title with United the following year. In 1968, he captained the Manchester United team that won the European Cup, scoring two goals in the final to help his team be the first English side to win the competition. He has scored more goals for United (249) than any other player and held the distinction of being England's all-time top goal scorer (49) from May 1968 to September 2015, when Wayne Rooney beat his England goal scoring record. Charlton held the record for most appearances for Manchester United (758),^[1] before being surpassed by Ryan Giggs.
He was selected for four World Cups (1958, 1962, 1966, and 1970), and helped England to win the competition in 1966. At the time of his retirement from the England team in 1970, he was the nation's most capped player, having turned out 106 times at the highest level. This record has since been held by Bobby Moore and Peter Shilton.

The Bryan brothers, identical twin brothers Robert Charles "Bob" Bryan and Michael Carl "Mike" Bryan, American professional doubles tennis players, and the most successful duo of all time

The Bryan brothers are identical twin brothers Robert Charles "Bob" Bryan and Michael Carl "Mike" Bryan, American professional doubles tennis players, and are the most successful duo of all time. They were born on April 29, 1978, with Mike being the elder by two minutes. The Bryans have won multiple Olympic medals, including the gold in 2012 and have won more professional games, matches, tournaments and Grand Slams than any other men's pairing. They have held the World No. 1 doubles ranking jointly for 440 weeks (as of October 12, 2015), which is longer than anyone else in doubles history. They have also finished the ATP year-end number 1 doubles team a record 10 times. Between 2005 and 2006, they set an Open Era record by competing in seven consecutive men's doubles Grand Slam finals.
The brothers, who both use single-handed backhands, are noted for their attacking style of play and great hustle. They are also well known for celebrating winning points by chest-bumping each other.^[1] Some of their success is attributed to their particular brand of twinship: the Bryans are "mirror twins", where one is right-handed (Mike) and the other left-handed (Bob).^[2] This is advantageous for their court coverage. They have been coached by David Macpherson since 2005.^[3]
Aside from tennis, they also do charity work in aid of children in need through their foundation, The Bryan Bros. Foundation.

Stanley Matthews, "The Wizard of the Dribble" and "The Magician". He is the only football player to have been knighted while still playing, as well as being the first winner of both the European Footballer of the Year and the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year awards

Sir Stanley Matthews, CBE (1 February 1915 – 23 February 2000) was an English footballer. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of the English game, he is the only player to have been knighted while still playing, as well as being the first winner of both the European Footballer of the Year and the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year awards. Matthews' nicknames included "The Wizard of the Dribble" and "The Magician".
A near-vegetarian teetotaller, he kept fit enough to play at the top level until he was 50 years old. He was also the oldest player ever to play in England's top football division and the oldest player ever to represent the country. He played his final competitive game in 1985, at the age of 70. Matthews was also an inaugural inductee to the English Football Hall of Fame in 2002 to honour his contribution to the English game.^[4]
He spent nineteen years with Stoke City, playing for the "Potters" from 1932 to 1947, and again from 1961 to 1965. He helped Stoke to the Second Division title in 1932–33 and 1962–63. In between his two spells at Stoke he spent fourteen years with Blackpool; where he became an FA Cup winner in 1953 (known as the Matthews Final), after he was on the losing side in the 1948 and 1951 finals. Between 1934 and 1957 he won 54 caps for England, playing in the FIFA World Cup in 1950 and 1954, and winning nine British Home Championship titles.
Following an unsuccessful stint as Port Vale's general manager between 1965 and 1968, he travelled around the world, coaching enthusiastic amateurs. Most notable of his coaching experiences came when he established an all-black team in Soweto known as "Stan's Men" – this was despite South Africa's harsh apartheid laws at the time.

Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman to have flown in space. In order to join the Cosmonaut Corps, Tereshkova was only honorarily inducted into the Soviet Air Force and thus she also became the first civilian to fly in space

Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova is the first woman to have flown in space, having been selected from more than four hundred applicants and five finalists to pilot Vostok 6 on 16 June 1963. In order to join the Cosmonaut Corps, Tereshkova was only honorarily inducted into the Soviet Air Force and thus she also became the first civilian to fly in space.

Before her recruitment as a cosmonaut, Tereshkova was a textile-factory assembly worker and an amateur skydiver. After the dissolution of the first group of female cosmonauts in 1969, she became a prominent member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, holding various political offices. She remained politically active following the collapse of the Soviet Union and is still regarded as a hero in post-Soviet Russia.
In 2013 she offered to go on a one-way trip to Mars if the opportunity arose.^[2] At the opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics, she was a carrier of the Olympic flag.

After the flight of Yuri Gagarin in 1961, Sergey Korolyov, the chief Soviet rocket engineer, came up with the idea of putting a woman in space. On 16 February 1962, Valentina Tereshkova was selected to join the female cosmonaut corps. Out of more than four hundred applicants, five were selected: Tatyana Kuznetsova, Irina Solovyova, Zhanna Yorkina, Valentina Ponomaryova, and Tereshkova. Qualifications included that they be parachutists under 30 years of age, under 170 cm (5 feet 7 inches) tall, and under 70 kg (154 lbs.) in weight.
Tereshkova was considered a particularly worthy candidate, partly due to her "proletarian" background, and because her father, tank leader sergeant Vladimir Tereshkov, was a war hero. He died in the Finnish Winter War during World War II in the Lemetti area in Finnish Karelia when Tereshkova was two years old. After her mission she was asked how the Soviet Union should thank her for her service to the country. Tereshkova asked that the government search for, and publish, the location where her father was killed in action. This was done, and a monument now stands at the site in Lemetti—now on the Russian side of the border. Tereshkova has since visited Finland several times.
Training included weightless flights, isolation tests, centrifuge tests, rocket theory, spacecraft engineering, 120 parachute jumps and pilot training in MiG-15UTI jet fighters. The group spent several months in intensive training, concluding with examinations in November 1962, after which four remaining candidates were commissioned Junior Lieutenants in the Soviet Air Force. Tereshkova, Solovyova and Ponomaryova were the leading candidates, and a joint mission profile was developed that would see two women launched into space, on solo Vostok flights on consecutive days in March or April 1963.
Originally it was intended that Tereshkova would launch first in Vostok 5 while Ponomaryova would follow her into orbit in Vostok 6. However, this flight plan was altered in March 1963. Vostok 5 would now carry a male cosmonaut Valery Bykovsky flying the joint mission with a woman aboard Vostok 6 in June 1963. The State Space Commission nominated Tereshkova to pilot Vostok 6 at their meeting on 21 May and this was confirmed by Nikita Khrushchev himself. Tereshkova was exactly ten years younger than the youngest Mercury Seven astronaut, Gordon Cooper.
After watching the successful launch of Vostok 5 on 14 June, Tereshkova began final preparations for her own flight. She was 26 at the time. On the morning of 16 June 1963, Tereshkova and her back-up Solovyova were both dressed in spacesuits and taken to the launch pad by bus. After completing her communication and life support checks, she was sealed inside the Vostok. After a two-hour countdown, Vostok 6 launched faultlessly, and Tereshkova became the first woman in space. Her call sign in this flight was Chaika (English: Seagull; Russian: Ча́йка), later commemorated as the name of an asteroid, 1671 Chaika.

Although Tereshkova experienced nausea and physical discomfort for much of the flight,^[5] she orbited the earth 48 times and spent almost three days in space. With a single flight, she logged more flight time than the combined times of all American astronauts who had flown before that date. Tereshkova also maintained a flight log and took photographs of the horizon, which were later used to identify aerosol layers within the atmosphere.
Vostok 6 was the final Vostok flight and was launched two days after Vostok 5 which carried Valery Bykovsky into a similar orbit for five days, landing three hours after Tereshkova. The two vessels approached each other within 5 kilometers (3.1 mi) at one point, and Tereshkova communicated with Bykovsky and with Khrushchev by radio.
Even though there were plans for further flights by women, it took 19 years until the second woman, Svetlana Savitskaya, flew into space. None of the other four in Tereshkova's early group flew, and in October 1969 the pioneering female cosmonaut group was dissolved.