About Us. 1  Tidewater Finance Company was established in 1992 and is proud to serve as one of the leading subprime lenders in the indirect finance industry. 2  As a nationwide special finance provider, TMC works with both independent and franchise dealerships to provide subprime auto financing options to customers.
Best known as: The first African-American to fly in space. Astronaut Guion Bluford became the first African-American in space when he flew on the space shuttle Challenger in 1983. Bluford was a former Air Force fighter pilot who flew 144 combat missions in the Vietnam War in 1966-67.
Bluford's class of astronauts from 1978 included two other African-Americans: Ron McNair (who later died on the space shuttle Challenger in 1986) and Fred Gregory (who after flying in space, went on to become a NASA deputy administrator.).