On this day, December 23, 1919, Robert T. McCall was born in Columbus, Ohio. After his art school studies in Columbus McCall served in the air force as a bombadier instructor. Later he worked as an illustrator in Chicago and New York. In 1962, McCall became one of the first three artists employed by NASA to promote their mission. He later created the image that became the promotional image for Stanley Kubrick’s film, 2001: A Space Odyssey.