Ham the space chimp

Ham was born in Cameroon and then kidnapped and eventually purchased by NASA. (So says Wikipedia.) They only named him after his first trip into space, and he was the first animal to actually perform functions while out there. His life seems so sad to me (stolen from his family, forced into labor, experimented upon, always frowning in pictures) but then I like to think that maybe he really enjoyed being a space traveler and transcending his monkey limitations. I guess the world will never know.

You can also watch a newsreel about him.