John Glenn, 1921-2016, astronaut, statesman

    The former U.S. senator passed away Dec. 8 at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio, according to NASA. He is to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.
    Many titles applied to Glenn, but he was without question an American icon. A member of the Mercury Seven, he was among the first group of astronauts selected by NASA in 1959. On Feb. 20, 1962, Glenn became the first American astronaut to orbit Earth. (Russian cosmonauts had already done so.) Glenn spent five hours in space, and his mission proved that the Mercury spacecraft worked, NASA said.
    When the spacecraft safely splashed down, “the first American to orbit the Earth reminded us that with courage and a spirit of discovery there's no limit to the heights we can reach together,” noted a statement by President Barack Obama.
    John Herschel Glenn Jr., was born July 18, 1921, in Cambridge, Ohio. He married Anna Margaret Castor of New Concord, Ohio, and attended Muskingum College in New Concord, graduating with a degree in engineering. He served in the Marine Corps during World War II and the Korean War and was a much-decorated pilot. After Korea, he became a test pilot before joining the astronaut program.
    While best known as an astronaut, Glenn wasn’t done with his achievements when he left the space program. He was elected as a Democrat to the U.S. Senate in 1974, according to his biography on the U.S. Congress website, and represented Ohio until 1999. In 1984, he attempted to become the Democratic presidential candidate but was unsuccessful. He was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in 2009 for his service as first American to orbit the Earth and given the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012. 
    In 1998, Glenn tackled a final mission on the space shuttle Discovery, becoming the oldest man in space during a nine-day mission. (He was then 77.)   
    Glenn’s exploits as a member of the Mercury Seven formed a key part of The Right Stuff, Tom Wolfe’s book about the space program. Actor Ed Harris portrayed him in the movie.
    “John always had the right stuff, inspiring generations of scientists, engineers and astronauts who will take us to Mars and beyond--not just to visit, but to stay,” Obama’s statement said. 
     Glenn is survived by his wife, two children and grandchildren.

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