Video: 'Mercury 7 Press Conference' (3 videos)

(Thursday, April 9, 1959) — Seven young military test pilots (Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, Gus Grissom, Wally Schirra, Alan Shepard and Donald Slayton) were presented as the first seven U.S. astronauts, quickly dubbed the “Mercury Seven,” at a press conference held today by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in Washington.