Born July 18, 1921 (Cambridge, Ohio)

American astronaut, senator, businessman

John Glenn was the first American to orbit Earth. He achieved this feat in 1962, at a time when the United States and the Soviet Union were engaged in a space race. Five years earlier the Soviets had stunned the world by launching unmanned Sputnik space satellites (objects that orbit in space). Then, in 1961, Soviet cosmonaut (astronaut) Yuri Gagarin (1934–1968; see entry) became the first human to orbit Earth. The ultimate goal for both the United States and the Soviet Union was to land a person on the Moon, so Gagarin's flight had clearly pulled the Soviet Union ahead in the race. Yet Glenn's three complete orbits paved the way for the U.S. victory scored by Neil Armstrong (1930–; see entry) and Buzz Aldrin (1930–; see entry) when, in 1969, they became the first humans to walk on the Moon. In 1998 Glenn...