American astronaut and senator

John H. Glenn Jr. was the first American to orbit the earth. In the wake of this 1962 feat, Glenn became a national hero on the order of Trans-Atlantic aviator Charles A. Lindbergh—a status that helped carry him to a second career in the United States Senate. As a 77-year-old, he made history again when he became the oldest American to travel in space on Oct. 29, 1998, aboard the space shuttle Discovery. His mission was a series of experiments on aging.

John Glenn. U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

John Herschel Glenn Jr. was born in Cambridge, Ohio, and grew up in nearby New Concord. He was the son of plumber John Herschel Glenn and Clara Sproat. Glenn credits his parents with instilling his deep-rooted Presbyterian faith and the accompanying philosophy that everyone is given...