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John Herschel Glenn Jr. (July 18, 1921 – December 8, 2016) was an American Marine Corps aviator, astronaut, businessman, and politician. He was the third American in space, and the first American to orbit the Earth, circling it three times in 1962.
May 21, 2024 · John Glenn (born July 18, 1921, Cambridge, Ohio, U.S.—died December 8, 2016, Columbus, Ohio) was the first U.S. astronaut to orbit Earth, completing three orbits in 1962. (Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first person in space, had made a single orbit of Earth in 1961.) Glenn joined the U.S. Naval Reserve in 1942.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Jun 10, 2024 · Glenn, who served four terms as a U.S. senator from Ohio, was one of NASA’s original seven Mercury astronauts. His flight on Friendship 7 on Feb. 20, 1962, showed the world that America was a serious contender in the space race with the Soviet Union. It also made Glenn an instant hero.
Feb 18, 2022 · Learn about the historic flight of John Glenn aboard Friendship 7, the first American to orbit the Earth. See photos and details of the launch, the mission, and the recovery of the astronaut and his spacecraft.
Apr 2, 2014 · John Glenn was the first U.S. astronaut to orbit Earth, completing three orbits in 1962. He also served as a U.S senator from Ohio.
Dec 8, 2015 · In 1962, aboard the Friendship 7 spacecraft, John Glenn made history by becoming the first American to orbit Earth and kicked the U.S. space program into overdrive.
Dec 8, 2016 · John Glenn was a NASA astronaut, a U.S. Senator and a national hero who flew around the planet in 1962 and returned to space in 1998. He was awarded the Space Congressional Medal of Honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal.
