Editing Alan Shepard (section)

==Early life==
Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr. was born on November 18, 1923, at 64 East Derry Road in [[Derry, New Hampshire]],{{sfn|Thompson|2004|p=7}} to Alan Bartlett Shepard Sr. (1891–1973) and Pauline Renza Shepard ({{nee|Emerson}}; 1900–1993).{{sfn|Burgess|2014|p=69}} He had a younger sister, Pauline, who was known as Polly.{{sfn|Thompson|2004|p=8}} The two were descendants of ''[[Mayflower]]'' passenger [[Richard Warren]],{{sfn|Burgess|2014|p=69}} and were related to [[Scottish people|Scottish]] emigrants from [[Berneray (North Uist)|Berneray]] in the [[Outer Hebrides]], through the Shepard line.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tobar an Dualchais |trans-title=The Source of Heritage |url=https://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/track/49447?l=gd |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231029220414/https://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/track/49447?l=gd |archive-date=October 29, 2023 |access-date=April 27, 2022 |website=Tobar an Dualchais |language=gd}}</ref> Their grandmother, [[Annie Bartlett Shepard]], served as the State Regent of the New Hampshire Society of the [[Daughters of the American Revolution]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Claghorn |first=Charles Eugene |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1Ol2AAAAMAAJ&q=Annie+Bartlett+Shepard |title=Women Patriots of the American Revolution: A Biographical Dictionary |date=1991 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=978-0-8108-2421-8 |pages=161–162 |language=en}}</ref> Alan Bartlett Shepard Sr., known as Bart, worked in the Derry National Bank, owned by Shepard's grandfather. Bart joined the [[National Guard of the United States|National Guard]] in 1915 and served in France with the [[American Expeditionary Force]] during [[World War I]].{{sfn|Thompson|2004|p=10}} He remained in the National Guard between the wars, and was recalled to active duty during [[World War II]], rising to the rank of [[lieutenant colonel (United States)|lieutenant colonel]].{{sfn|Burgess|2014|p=70}}

Shepard attended Adams School in Derry, where his academic performance impressed his teachers. He skipped the sixth grade{{sfn|Thompson|2004|pp=16–18}} and proceeded to [[middle school]] at Oak Street School in Derry,{{sfn|Burgess|2014|p=70}} where he also skipped the eighth grade.{{sfn|Thompson|2004|pp=16–18}} He achieved the [[Boy Scouts of America]] rank of [[First Class Scout (Boy Scouts of America)|First Class Scout]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.usscouts.org/eagle/eagleastronauts.asp |title=Astronauts With Scouting Experience |website=U.S. Scouting Service Project |access-date=May 1, 2019 |archive-date=May 1, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190501182242/http://www.usscouts.org/eagle/eagleastronauts.asp |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1936, he went to the [[Pinkerton Academy]], a private school in Derry that his father had attended and where his grandfather had been a trustee.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History |url=https://www.pinkertonacademy.org/about/history |access-date=November 18, 2023 |publisher=Pinkerton Academy }}</ref> He completed grades 9 to 12 there.{{sfn|Thompson|2004|pp=16–18}} Fascinated by flight, he created a model airplane club at the academy and his Christmas present in 1938 was a flight in a [[Douglas DC-3]].{{sfn|Thompson|2004|pp=20–24}} The following year he began cycling to [[Manchester–Boston Regional Airport|Manchester Airfield]], where he would do odd jobs in exchange for the occasional ride in an airplane or informal flying lesson.{{sfn|Shepard et al.|2010|p=64}}{{sfn|Thompson|2004|pp=24–27}}

Shepard graduated from Pinkerton Academy in 1940. Because World War II was already raging in Europe, his father wanted him to join the Army. Shepard chose the Navy instead. He easily passed the entrance exam to the [[United States Naval Academy]] at [[Annapolis]] in 1940 but at sixteen was too young to enter that year. The Navy sent him to the [[Admiral Farragut Academy]], a [[University-preparatory school|prep school]] for the Naval Academy from which he graduated with the Class of 1941.{{sfn|Thompson|2004|pp=27–29}} Tests administered at Farragut indicated an [[IQ]] of 145 but his grades were mediocre.{{sfn|Thompson|2004|pp=36–37}}

At the Naval Academy, Shepard enjoyed [[aquatic sports]]. He was a keen and competitive sailor, winning several races, including a [[regatta]] held by the Annapolis Yacht Club. He learned to sail all the types of boats the academy owned, up to and including {{USS|Freedom|IX-43|6}}, a {{convert|90|ft|adj=on}} [[schooner]]. He also participated in swimming and rowed with the [[eight (rowing)|eight]].{{sfn|Thompson|2004|pp=36–37}} During his Christmas break in 1942, he went to [[Principia College]] to be with his sister, who was unable to go home owing to wartime travel restrictions. There he met Louise Brewer, whose parents were pensioners on the [[du Pont family]] estate and like Renza Shepard, were devout [[Christian Science|Christian Scientists]].{{sfn|Thompson|2004|pp=40–42}}<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=XRlWAAAAIBAJ&pg=6852%2C5193324 |newspaper=Eugene Register-Guard |location=Eugene, Oregon |agency=Associated Press |title=Well-wishers besiege Alan Shepard family |date=October 28, 1961 |page=5 |access-date=April 22, 2022 |archive-date=March 27, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220327231730/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=XRlWAAAAIBAJ&pg=6852%2C5193324 |url-status=live }}</ref> Owing to the war, the usual four-year course at Annapolis was cut short by a year. He graduated with the Class of 1945 on June 6, 1944, ranked 463rd out of 915, and was commissioned as an [[Ensign (rank)#United States|ensign]] and awarded a [[Bachelor of Science]] degree. The following month he became secretly engaged to Louise.{{sfn|Thompson|2004|p=56}}<ref name="nasa bio" />