bibliography
NNDB
This is a beta version of NNDB
Search: for

John Glenn

John GlennAKA John Herschel Glenn, Jr.

Born: 18-Jul-1921
Birthplace: Cambridge, OH
Died: 8-Dec-2016
Location of death: Columbus, OH
Cause of death: unspecified

Gender: Male
Religion: Presbyterian
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Astronaut, Politician
Party Affiliation: Democratic

Nationality: United States
Executive summary: First American to orbit earth

Military service: USMC (1942-65, WWII, Korean War)

A retired American astronaut, United States Senator, and war hero, John Glenn began his service to his country by joining the Marine Corps in 1942. He served in WWII (59 combat missions, multiple decorations) and Korea (63 missions) and served briefly as an Air Force exchange pilot (27 missions). In Korea he was also credited with shooting down 3 enemy MiG's in the final 9 days of fighting.

In July 1957 Glenn performed the first transcontinental flight at supersonic speed, flying from Los Angeles to New York in 3 hours and 23 minutes. In 1959 he joined the space program as a Project Mercury Astronaut, and on 20 February 1962 he became the first American to orbit the Earth (Mercury-Atlas 6). In his Friendship 7 capsule Glenn completed three orbits with a maximum altitude of 162 miles and an orbital velocity of approximately 17,500 miles per hour.

In 1964 Glenn resigned from NASA and made an unsuccessful bid for the Senate. The following year, 1965, he retired from the Marine Corps and took up life as a business executive. In 1974 he again ran for Senator of Ohio, this time successfully. He was re-elected to three more terms, leaving office in 1999. During his terms of office he served as chairman on the Committee on Governmental Affairs (100th-103rd Congresses) and was involved in legislation surrounding the control of weapons of mass destruction and the export of nuclear matter.

In 1998 Senator Glenn returned to space aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery as a crew member of the STS-95 mission. Glenn served as Payload Specialist 2, on the 9-day mission with a special focus on the interaction of weightlessness and aging on the body. Glenn and fellow crew members Curtis Brown Jr., Steven Lindsey, Scott F. Parazynski, Stephen K. Robinson, Chiaki Mukai (NASDA), and Pedro Duque (ESA) completed the mission in 134 Earth orbits, flying 3.6 million miles in 213 hours and 44 minutes. Glenn was then 77 years old, the oldest person ever to fly in Space. In his lifetime, he has logged roughly 9,000 hours of flying time, of which 3,000 were in jet aircraft.

Glenn continues to be an active voice in public affairs, speaking out against the Bush administration's plans to cancel all NASA research not directed toward building a lunar base to put men on Mars. He currently spearheads the John Glenn Institute of Public Service and Public Policy, encouraging young people to take an active and capable role in American politics.

Glenn has received numerous awards and honors including the Congressional Space Medal of Honor and six presentations of the Distinguished Flying Cross. He was portrayed in the 1983 film The Right Stuff by actor Ed Harris, though Glenn claims the film does not represent the reality. A collection of his personal papers and mementos are archived in Ohio State University's John Glenn collection.

Father: John Herschel Glenn
Mother: Clara Sproat
Wife: Anna Margaret Castor (m. 6-Apr-1943, one son, one daughter)
Son: David
Daughter: Carolyn

    High School: New Concord High School, New Concord, OH
    University: BS Engineering, Muskingum College, OH

    US Senator, Ohio 1975-99
    Keating Five
    Alfalfa Club 1975, president
    American Astronautical Society Fellow
    Challenger Center for Space Science Education Council of Advisors
    Close Up Foundation Board of Advisors
    Explorers Club 6-Mar-1962
    Flying Leatherneck Historical Foundation Board of Directors
    Joe Foss Institute National Advisory Board
    Freemasonry
    National Space Club
    National Osteoporosis Foundation Honorary Board of Trustees
    National Space Society Board of Governors
    Air Medal with 18 clusters
    National Aviation Hall of Fame 17-Dec-1969
    Congressional Space Medal of Honor 1978
    Grand Marshal of the Tournament of Roses 1990
    Distinguished Flying Cross (six times)
    Silver Buffalo 1965
    Kentucky Colonel 20-Feb-1962
    Wedding: William Cohen and Janet Langhart (1996)

Author of books:
John Glenn: A Memoir (1999)


New!
NNDB MAPPER
Create a map starting with John Glenn
Requires Flash 7+ and Javascript.

Do you know something we don't?
Submit a correction or make a comment about this profile



Copyright ©2019 Soylent Communications