By Hannah Jane Farron
FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS
Lauren Zoe Hernandez (born June 9, 2000) is an American retired artistic gymnast. During her debut year as a senior gymnast, she competed as a member of the U.S. women’s gymnastics team dubbed the “Final Five” that won the team gold medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics. Individually, Hernandez earned the silver medal on the balance beam. She took a break from gymnastics and returned to training in late 2018 to earn a spot on the 2020 Summer Olympics team, but she did not qualify for the Olympic Trials.
Hernandez was first added to the U.S. gymnastics national team in 2013 and began competing in international competitions that same year. After missing the 2014 season due to injury, she won the junior all-around title at the 2015 U.S. Championships. In addition to winning Olympic gold, Hernandez also won team gold medals at the 2016 City of Jesolo Trophy and 2016 Pacific Rim Gymnastics Championships.
Outside of gymnastics, Hernandez has appeared on season 23 of Dancing with the Stars in 2016, where she won the competition along with partner Valentin Chmerkovskiy. Hernandez hosted the first season of American Ninja Warrior Junior as the on-course reporter and starred as Valeria in the Nickelodeon animated miniseries Middle School Moguls. She is the author of two books, I Got This: To Gold and Beyond, a New York Times Bestseller, and She’s Got This, a children’s book.
Hernandez was revealed as one of the celebrities competing on season 23 of Dancing with the Stars on August 30, 2016. She was partnered with professional dancer Valentin Chmerkovskiy. The couple won the competition and the Mirrorball Trophy on the episode that aired November 22, 2016. At 16, Hernandez was the show’s youngest winner.
In November 2017, Hernandez returned to the 25th season in week eight, to participate in a trio jive with Victoria Arlen and Chmerkovskiy.
- In 2017, Hernandez received a Jefferson Award for Public Service for “Outstanding National or Global Service by a Young American 25 Years or Under.”
- In June 2019, Hernandez was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame.
Hernandez has been dating fellow gymnast Charlotte Drury since December 2020. She started attending New York University Tisch School of the Arts in 2023.
TODAY’S ALMANAC
Question of the Day
Advice of the Day
Home Hint of the Day
Word of the Day
Puzzle of the Day
Born
- Peter the Great (emperor of Russia) –
- Cole Porter (composer & lyricist) –
- Donald Duck (cartoon character) –
- Patricia Cornwell (author) –
- Michael J. Fox (actor) –
- Johnny Depp (actor) –
- Tedy Bruschi (football player) –
- Natalie Portman (actress) –
- Laurie Hernandez (Olympic gymnast) –
Died
- Charles Dickens (author) –
- Roosevelt Brown (football player) –
- Richard Eberhart (Pulitzer Prize-winning poet) –
- Adam West (actor) –
HISTORICAL HAPPENINGS ON THIS DATE IN HISTORY
Events
- Jacques Cartier became the first European to discover the St. Lawrence River –
- Church of England fully adopted Book of Common Prayer –
- The first copyright for a book was given to The Philadelphia Spelling Book by John Barry –
- Irish-born British private Timothy O’Hea put out a fire in a gunpowder-loaded railcar in Danville, Quebec. The train had also been carrying hundreds of German immigrants who were locked in their cars. O’Hea was later awarded the Victoria Cross for his courage. –
- First degree earned via radio given to Clifford Lideen by University of Iowa –
- Donald Duck made his debut in the cartoon The Wise Little Hen”“ –
- Secretariat won the Triple Crown –
- Deanna Brasseur and Jane Foster became Canada’s first female CF-18 jet fighter pilots –
- Dick Van Dyke made history as the oldest person, at age 98, to receive an Emmy award –
Weather
- Worst tornado in New England history in Worcester County, MA – 90 people killed, $60 million in damages. Also a tornado in Exeter, NH, injured 5 –
- Deadly tornado struck Worcester County, Massachusetts –
- Eastern Florida was hit by Hurricane Alma, the earliest hurricane landfall on the U.S. continent since 1825 –
COURTESY www.almanac.com
