On this day in 1944, US Navy began accepting black women to serve. Harriet Ida Pickens and Ensign Frances Wills were the first two Black officers to be commissioned into the Women’s Reserve. On October 19th, 1944, the U.S. Navy began admitting black women to serve as administrative officers in the Women's Reserve of the U.S. Navy,better known as WAVES( Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service). Despite this groundbreaking order, Black women remained largely unrepresented in the naval branch. Of the more than 80,000 women serving during World War II, only 72 were black. The U.S. military's history of racial segregation formally came to an end on July 26, 1948, when President Harry S. Truman signed Executive Order 9981, the legislation that integrated all branches of the U.S. armed forces. On December 26, 1944 Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Harriet Ida Pickens, and Ensign Frances Wills were commissioned as the first African-American WAVES.

Lonnie Johnson, NASA engineer, invented the Super Soaker. He made your childhood hot summers fun, 1980s.