Bernice Steadman

Bernice Steadman ( Trimble; July 9, 1925 – March 18, 2015) was an American aviator and businesswoman. Steadman was one of thirteen women chosen to take the same tests as the astronauts of the Mercury 7 during the early 1960s. The group later became known as the Mercury 13. Steadman and the other twelve women in the program were denied the opportunity to become astronauts due to their gender.

In 2001, Steadman published her autobiography, Tethered Mercury: A Pilot's Memoir: The Right Stuff — But the Wrong Sex, detailing her career and the Mercury 13 program. She noted that U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson had written "Stop This Now" across a document upon learning of the Mercury 13 project.

Bernice Steadman died at her home on Traverse City, Michigan, on March 18, 2015, at the age of 89 following a lengthy battle with Alzheimer's disease.