HAMPTON, Va. (AP) - The Hampton City Council has voted to place the name of Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong on a road which had been named for a Confederate general.
The road was named for Confederate general John B. Magruder, but city officials said the change happened only because a NASA employee last July emailed Mayor Donnie Tuck, suggesting naming it for the famous astronaut, The Virginian-Pilot reported Thursday.
Council members, who approved the change on Wednesday, said the name change is a way to honor Armstrong, who was the first man to walk on the moon during the Apollo 11 mission and celebrate the 50th anniversary of the event. Without that email, they said, the issue wouldn’t have come to their attention. .
The four-lane divided thoroughfare was named for Magruder, who led Confederate troops against the U.S. in the Battle of the Peninsula. Officials say the name change will take place in July 2021.
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