John
H. Glenn
Senator, Pilot, Astronaut
Cambridge, Ohio
Born: July 18, 1921
High School: New Concord High School
College: Muskingum College
A native of Ohio,
John Glenn grew up in New Concord, where his father was the owner of
a plumbing business. There, his parents built a home that doubled as
a rooming house
for students from nearby Muskingum College. As a young child, he developed
an interest in science and aviation.
As an adult John Glenn carried out his childhood dreams by becoming
a pilot, astronautand politician
.
Shortly after WWII began, Glenn enlisted in the Naval Aviation Cadet Program
and became a Marine pilot. Serving in both WWII and the Korean War, he flew
a total of 149 missions and received many decorations, including the Distinguished
Flying Cross six times. Later, he attended test pilot school and then joined
the Naval Air Test Center's staff of expert flyers. He served as a test
pilot for Naval and Marine aircraft,
including the FJ3, the F7U Cutlass, and the F8U Crusader. One of Glenn's
most notable accomplishments during this period was the 1957 speed record
he set
flying from Los Angeles to New York in three hours and 23 minutes. "Project
Bullet" secured Glenn's reputation as one of the country's top test
pilots and provided a stepping stone for his participation in the emerging
space exploration
program.
Glenn's experience and skill made him a logical candidate for the astronaut
corps being formed during 1958. He entered the space program as a participant
in the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics' "G" force tests.
In 1959, NASA selected him as one of the first seven astronauts in the U.S.
space program. On February 20, 1962, he rode into space and piloted the Friendship
7 spacecraft around the globe three times, becoming the first American to
orbit the earth.
While he continued to serve as an advisor to NASA until 1964, his interests increasingly turned to public affairs. Encouraged by Bobby Kennedy to seek public office, Glenn retired from the Marine Corps as a colonel the following year to run for the United States Senate.
He entered the Ohio Democratic primary challenging the incumbent Democratic
Sen. Stephen M. Young. An accident forced him to leave the race early in
the campaign and to put his political career on hold. After recovery from
the accident,
Glenn joined Royal Crown Cola as vice president and then president. Still
interested in public service, Glenn again ran for the senate. His opponent,
Howard Metzenbaum,
defeated him in the 1970 primaries. Four years later, Glenn made a third
run for the senate. This time he was successful, easily winning over his
Republican
opponent, former Cleveland Mayor Ralph J. Perk.
Astronaut Glenn now became Senator Glenn. In this new career, he represented
Ohio and took a leading role in weapons control and government affairs. He
was chief author of the 1978 Nonproliferation Act, served as chairman of
the Senate Government Affairs Committee from 1978 until 1995, and sat on
the Foreign
Relations and Armed Services committees and the Special Committee on Aging.
Never far from the center of Democratic politics, he was a contender for
the vice presidential nomination three times and ran in the Democratic
primaries
as a presidential candidate in 1984.
Glenn announced on February 20, 1997, the 30th anniversary of his orbit
around the earth, that he would retire from the senate. A year later,
NASA invited
him to rejoin the space program he had helped to create as a member of
the Space Shuttle Discovery Crew. Glenn accepted the invitation and on
October
29, 1998, and became the oldest human ever to venture into space.
John Glenn, soldier, pilot, astronaut, corporate executive, and senator,
has taken on a new role. Upon his retirement from the senate and return
from space,
John and Annie Glenn founded the John Glenn Institute for Public Service
at the Ohio State University. Through its programs, they seek to improve
the quality
of public service and to encourage young people to pursue careers in government.
The Glenns also serve as trustees of Muskingum College, their alma mater.
John Glenn Chronology of Achievements
~ 1941 Enlisted in the Naval Aviation
Cadet Program, became Marine pilot and flew 59 combat missions in the
South Pacific.
1950 – 1953 Served in the Korean War and flew 63 combat missions.
1958 Entered the space program as a participant in the National Advisory
Committee on Aeronautics' "G" force tests.
1959 Selected by NASA as one of the first seven astronauts in the
U.S. space program.
1962 Rode into space and piloted the Friendship spacecraft around
the globe three times, becoming the first American to orbit the earth.
1964 Retired from the NASA space program
1965 Colonel Glenn retired from the Marine Corps to run for the United
States Senate.
1978 Chief author of the Nonproliferation Act
1978 – 1995 Chairman of the Senate Government Affairs
1984 Ran in the Democratic Primaries as a presidential candidate.
1998 Founded the John Glenn Institute for Public Service at the Ohio
State University.
1998 Became the oldest human ever to venture into space.
2003 Keynote speaker at the “Inventing Flight” ceremony,
a celebration of 100 years of flight honoring the fathers of aviation, Orville
and Wilbur Wright.
Information courtesy of The John and Annie Glenn Museum
Foundation
Links
Annie
Glenn Museum Foundation
John
Glenn Archives
