John Herschel Glenn Jr.
Allison, Rams Record Editor
Many of you may know that John Glenn passed away on December 8, 2016, but did you know he was the first person to orbit the Earth three times and he also was a United States Senator?
John Herschel Glenn Jr. was born July 18, 1921 in Cambridge, Ohio. He went to Muskingum College. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor he decided to become a Marine pilot. After flying 149 missions between WWⅡ and the Korean War, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross six times.
When NASA was looking for pilots he volunteered right away. Glenn was selected with seven others to be the first astronauts in the program. On February 20, 1962 John Glenn piloted the Friendship 7 aircraft around the Earth three times. This meant he was the first human to orbit the Earth. After this he found out that he would not have another flight assignment so his interest turned to politics.
He retired as a colonel from the Marine Corps and ran for senate three times, the first two of which were not successful. By the third time he ran for senate he won, making him Senator Glenn. In February, 1997 he announced he would retire from the Senate.
The next year NASA invited him to become a member of the Space Shuttle Discovery Crew. This made him not only the first human in space but the oldest. John and his wife later founded the John Glenn Institute for Public Service at Ohio State University.
Sadly on December 8, 2016 John Herschel Glenn Jr. passed away. He may be gone from Earth but he will always be in our hearts and history!
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