Reality star Vanessa Simmons

Events in 1983 and 5-8

Events in US in the birth year of Vanessa Simmons

• Second space shuttle, Challenger, makes successful maiden voyage, which includes the first US space walk in nine years (April 4).
• US Supreme Court declares many local abortion restrictions unconstitutional (June 15).
• Sally K. Ride, 32, first US woman astronaut in space as a crew member aboard space shuttle Challenger (June 18).
• US admits shielding former Nazi Gestapo chief Klaus Barbie, 69, the "butcher of Lyon," wanted in France for war crimes (Aug. 15).

Birthday Vanessa Simmons (5-8) in history

• Day 5-8 year 1861: For the first time, the U.S. government levied an income tax.
• Day 5-8 year 1884: The cornerstone for the Statue of Liberty was laid on Bedloe's Island.
• Day 5-8 year 1914: The first electric traffic lights were installed in Cleveland, Ohio.
• Day 5-8 year 1962: Marilyn Monroe died.
• Day 5-8 year 1963: The United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union signed the limited Test Ban Treaty, which prohibited nuclear weapon tests in the atmosphere, in outer space, and underwater.
• Day 5-8 year 1969: The U.S. space probe Mariner 7 transmitted pictures of Mars.
• Day 5-8 year 1984: Joan Benoit won the first Olympic women's marathon.
• Day 5-8 year 2002: The gun turret of the Civil War ironclad USS Monitor was raised from the ocean floor.
• Day 5-8 year 2003: The Rev. Gene Robinson was approved as the first openly gay bishop by the U.S. Episcopal Church.
• Day 5-8 year 2012: The plutonium-powered rover Curiosity successfully lands on Mars. Larger than earlier rovers, Curiosity will spend two years examining the land, looking for evidence that conditions on Mars are fit for life.