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John Glenn, the last of the Mercury Seven astronauts, has died | Ars Technica
John Glenn, the first American to fly into orbit around the planet Earth and later a US senator for 24 years, died Thursday at a cancer hospital in Columbus, Ohio. He was 95 and the last of the living Mercury Seven astronauts.
Although he made history as an astronaut, that did not define Glenn as an American. Before joining NASA, he was a marine fighter pilot and decorated hero during World War II and the Korean War. After NASA he served four terms as a US senator, often focusing on issues not related to spaceflight, such as the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. "Overall, I think his legacy is one of public service," said John Logsdon, a space historian.
Born on July 18, 1921, in central Ohio, Glenn's parents were a plumber and a teacher. As a son of Ohio, home of the Wright Brothers, Glenn scraped and scrimped to earn his pilot's license while studying engineering at Muskingum College. But it wasn't the bicycle manufacturers-turned-aviators who ultimately inspired Glenn.
"I always had an interest in flying ever since I was a little kid, and I remember riding along with my dad in the car or something, and I'd have one of these little airplanes with a little prop that would run," Glenn recalled in a 1997 interview. "I'd hold it out the window and watch the prop run and things like that. And then I remember when I was only about—I guess I was about six or seven years old is when Lindbergh's flight occurred, and I still remember that as being an area of great interest around the community, more so than the Wright Brothers, as far as influencing me."
John Glenn, the first American to fly into orbit around the planet Earth and later a US senator for 24 years, died Thursday at a cancer hospital in Columbus, Ohio. He was 95 and the last of the living Mercury Seven astronauts.
Although he made history as an astronaut, that did not define Glenn as an American. Before joining NASA, he was a marine fighter pilot and decorated hero during World War II and the Korean War. After NASA he served four terms as a US senator, often focusing on issues not related to spaceflight, such as the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. "Overall, I think his legacy is one of public service," said John Logsdon, a space historian.
Born on July 18, 1921, in central Ohio, Glenn's parents were a plumber and a teacher. As a son of Ohio, home of the Wright Brothers, Glenn scraped and scrimped to earn his pilot's license while studying engineering at Muskingum College. But it wasn't the bicycle manufacturers-turned-aviators who ultimately inspired Glenn.
"I always had an interest in flying ever since I was a little kid, and I remember riding along with my dad in the car or something, and I'd have one of these little airplanes with a little prop that would run," Glenn recalled in a 1997 interview. "I'd hold it out the window and watch the prop run and things like that. And then I remember when I was only about—I guess I was about six or seven years old is when Lindbergh's flight occurred, and I still remember that as being an area of great interest around the community, more so than the Wright Brothers, as far as influencing me."