Background

John Herschel Glenn, Jr. was born on July 18, 1921, in Cambridge, Ohio, United States to the family of John Herschel Glenn, Sr., a plumbing contractor, and Clara Teresa Sproat, a teacher. His parents had two other children who died in infancy, and they later adopted his sister Jean. He was reared nearby in the small town of New Concord and graduated from high school in 1939. Glenn credits his parents for instilling his deep-rooted Presbyterian faith and its accompanying philosophy that everyone is given certain talents and has a duty to use them to the fullest.

Education

John Glenn studied at New Concord High School graduating in 1939. After graduating from high school in 1939, Glenn entered Muskingum College initially planning on a degree in chemistry. Having second thoughts about his major during his sophomore year, Glenn jumped at a chance to gain his pilot's license through the Civilian Pilot Training Program funded by the United States Department of Commerce. Administered through the college's physics department, the program paid the cost of the flight instructions and gave college credits in physics. Glenn applied for the program, gained admission, and earned his private pilot's license on June 26, 1941.

After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Glenn determined to use his newly acquired flying skills in the war effort. He left Muskingum College in the middle of his junior year and enlisted in the Army Air Corps, which sent him back to New Concord to await orders for military flight school. After waiting three months for his orders from the Army, in March 1942 Glenn enlisted again, this time with the Navy as an aviation cadet. Glenn had not satisfied Muskigam's normal requirement for the number of senior years, in-residence courses taken, however, he was later granted a waiver for this requirement and awarded a bachelor's degree. Two weeks later he arrived at the Navy's pre-flight school located at the University of Iowa in Iowa City. After the three-month course in Iowa, Glenn moved on to primary flight training in Olathe, Kansas, and then to basic and advanced training in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Career

Commissioned in the Marine Corps Reserve in March 1943, John Glenn was assigned to squadron VMO-155 and ordered to the Pacific. The squadron, equipped with F4U Corsairs, was based on Majuro in the Marshall Islands and flew a variety of bombing and strafing missions against Japanese garrisons on other islands in the area. Glenn flew 59 combat missions while stationed there. After returning to the United States, he served principally as a flight instructor and was promoted to captain in July 1945. He remained on active duty after the war and was brought into the regular Marine Corps in 1946.

In the Korean conflict, Glenn flew jets in ground support missions for the Marines and in air-to-air combat in the Air Force's new F-86 fighters as an exchange pilot, completing a total of 90 missions between February and September 1953. He gained a reputation for taking the battle to the enemy at such a close range that often he would come back with a seemingly unflyable aircraft. Once, he returned in a plane with more than 200 holes in it, and it was immediately nicknamed "Glenn's flying doily."

Glenn was promoted to major in February 1953 and after his return from Korea worked tirelessly to make up for his lack of a college degree (awarded 1962) by self-study in engineering subjects and attending service schools. He was assigned to the Navy's Patuxent River test pilot school and later to the Bureau of Aeronautics. Glenn developed a project in which an F8U Crusader jet fighter would try to break the non-stop transcontinental speed record, refueling in mid-air three times. He received permission to make the attempt himself and on July 16, 1957, flew from Los Angeles to New York in 3 hours, 23 minutes. For this feat a fifth Distinguished Flying Cross was added to the many medals he had earned in wartime.

Spurred by the successful Russian Sputnik satellite, the United States government in 1958 began Project Mercury, a top-priority plan to place a man in orbit around the earth. Glenn went through a selection process of strenuous and exacting physical and psychological testing and was named one of the seven Mercury astronauts in April 1959. Promoted to lieutenant colonel the same month, Glenn was the senior astronaut in rank and age. Motivated by a deep religious faith and a tenacious devotion to duty, he reflected earnest confidence that helped win the space program widespread public support.

Glenn was a backup pilot for both the suborbital flights of Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom in 1961. He was chosen for the first orbital mission, "Friendship 7," circling the earth three times on February 20, 1962. It was a technological triumph, but partway through the nearly five-hour flight, a data sensor indicated that his space capsule's protective heatshield had become dislocated. On these early missions, no repairs could be made in space, and if the heatshield actually had slipped, Glenn would have perished without a trace in the fireball of re-entry into the atmosphere. The next week a relieved nation celebrated his safe return with parades in New York and Washington, D.C., as well as New Concord; not since Charles Lindbergh had the public so acclaimed a peacetime hero. Glenn responded on behalf of all the astronauts with a simple and moving speech before a joint meeting of Congress.

President John F. Kennedy admired the astronauts and their deeds and became Glenn's personal friend. He advised Glenn to finish his Marine career and seek public office, but after Kennedy's death, Glenn's political future became more difficult. Moreover, in February 1964 Glenn suffered a severe inner-ear injury in a fall in the bathroom of his Columbus, Ohio, apartment. When he was taken to a military hospital in San Antonio for treatment speculation circulated that his problem was a delayed result of his space flight, but these rumors were dispelled when initial reports of the accident were clarified. His lengthy convalescence forced the postponement of his retirement from the Marines and made him abandon as well his declared plans to run in the Democratic primary for U.S. senator from Ohio. By late 1964 he had recovered and was even able to fly jet fighters once again. Glenn asked that the Marine Corps not consider him for higher rank as he still intended to retire. President Lyndon Johnson set aside his request, however, and promoted him to full colonel at a White House ceremony in October 1964. Glenn then retired in January 1965.

Glenn became an executive of Royal Crown Cola International from 1965 to 1969, when he resigned to try again for the Senate. Although his political organization was inexperienced, he was narrowly defeated in the Democratic primary of 1970 by Howard Metzenbaum, who was himself defeated by Robert A. Taft, Jr., in the general election. Between 1970 and 1974 Glenn became a partial owner of motels near Orlando, Florida. Along with other investments, they made him a wealthy man.

In 1974 Glenn made his third try for the Senate, again opposing Metzenbaum in the primary. This time Glenn's campaigning and organization were much improved. Glenn defeated Metzenbaum and went on to win the general election by one million votes. (Metzenbaum later won election as Ohio's second senator.) In the Senate Glenn was a member of the Foreign Relations and Governmental Affairs committees. He was respected as a hard-working senator, at his best when dealing with technical issues. His voting record tended to be conservative on national defense and foreign affairs, but more liberal on domestic social issues. He was the principal author of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Act of 1978, which sought to limit the spread of nuclear weapons. In 1980, he was re-elected by a margin of 1.6 million votes - the largest in Ohio history - in the face of a nationwide Republican trend.

In April 1983 Glenn announced his intention to seek the Democratic presidential nomination. He had been called "a Democratic Eisenhower," and many expected him to have the best chance to defeat the acknowledged front-runner, former Vice President Walter Mondale, in the primaries. Unlike Ike, however, Glenn somehow could not convey his charming and warm private personality to voters nationwide. His political organization suffered from frequent changes in key personnel and was inept in the timing of campaign events. Almost everywhere Glenn was enthusiastically received but often disappointed his audiences with long, overly detailed speeches. His campaign steadily lost momentum as Mondale, a seasoned politician, racked up many endorsements among the diverse groups that comprise the national Democratic Party. Glenn's best showing was a second-place finish in Alabama, and he withdrew in March 1984, leaving the race to Senator Gary Hart, who had captured much of the vote of the "baby-boom" generation; the Reverend Jesse Jackson, who was forging a coalition among minorities; and Mondale, ultimately selected as the party's nominee.

After again winning his seat both in the 1986 and 1992 elections, Senator Glenn remained a strong voice in the Congress for a permanent research station in space and supported increased funding for education, scientific research, and space exploration. He announced in 1997 that he would not seek another term in the senate, but retire to pursue other interests. He was then assigned to the Senate Campaign Finance Reform Committee as vice-chair. He also approached NASA with the proposition that he be sent back into space again so that they could study the effects of exposure to weightlessness on older Americans. Glenn also helped to found the John Glenn Institute for Public Service and Public Policy in 2000 (now part of the John Glenn School of Public Affairs) at Ohio State University, Columbus, where in 1998 he had become an adjunct professor in the political science department.

Achievements

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  John Glenn was a distinguished pilot astronaut. He flew a total of 149 missions during World War II and the Korean War and received multiple medals and decorations, including the Distinguished Flying Cross on six occasions. Schools throughout the nation teach their students about John Glenn because he was the first American to orbit the Earth. But his achievements didn't begin or end with his trip into space. He was the last surviving of the original seven United States astronauts from Project Mercury. The former astronaut had a distinguished career in the United States military before joining NASA and served in the United States Senate for 24 years after his return to Earth. He was a heavily decorated fighter pilot and co-sponsored a law that helped stem the spread of nuclear weapons.

Works

More photos

• book

  • John Glenn: A Memoir

    (He was the first astronaut to orbit the Earth. Nearly fou...)

    1999
  • The Alpha Series 2006

Religion

John Glenn was a Presbyterian. Having a strong faith in God, he still didn't deny evolution considering it a fact and stating it should be taught at schools. He also was an ordained elder of the Church.

Politics

John Glenn was a member of the Democratic Party and was elected on its behalf to the United States Senate as an Ohio representative.

Views

Glenn believed that an educated citizenry was critical to any democracy. He placed a high value on serving others with his life, as an astronaut, a senator, and as a loving husband and father. He was a strident champion for women’s rights. His votes in the Senate focused more on supporting others and helping give others an equal choice in life. John Glenn believed in empowering others through example and deeds.

Public recognition followed John Glenn throughout his adult life, but despite the fame and his own place in the history of heroes, he saw more heroes in everyday life and people than in public figures. For Glenn, heroes were people who have put their own affairs as secondary and have dedicated themselves to something that is important to the public as a whole.

Quotations: "The most important thing we can do is inspire young minds and to advance the kind of science, math and technology education that will help youngsters take us to the next phase of space travel."

"I pray every day and I think everybody should. I don't think you can be up here and look out the window as I did the first day and look out at the Earth from this vantage point. We're not so high compared to people who went to the moon and back. But to look out at this kind of creation out here and not believe in God is, to me, impossible. It just strengthens my faith."

"I don't know what you could say about a day in which you have seen four beautiful sunsets."

"The most important thing we can do is inspire young minds and to advance the kind of science, math and technology education that will help youngsters take us to the next phase of space travel."

Membership

John Glenn was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Concord Masonic Lodge No. 688, the International Academy of Astronautics, the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, the Marine Corps Aviation Association, and the Order of Daedalians.

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  American Academy of Arts and Sciences , United States

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  Concord Masonic Lodge No. 688 , United States

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  International Academy of Astronautics

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  Society of Experimental Test Pilots , United States

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  Marine Corps Aviation Association , United States

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  Order of Daedalians , United States

Personality

John Glenn was a confident and charismatic kind of personality. His biggest hero is his wife Annie, who overcame severe stuttering to become an accomplished public speaker and public advocate for people with disabilities.

Interests

• boating, skiing

• Sport & Clubs

  football, tennis, basketball

Connections

Glenn met his wife Annie when they were children growing up in New Concord, Ohio. Glenn wrote in his autobiography John Glenn, A Memoir: "She was part of my life from the time of my first memory." They were married on April 6, 1943, at the College Drive Presbyterian Church in New Concord. They had two children, John David Glenn and Carolyn Ann Glenn.

Father:

John Herschel Glenn, Sr.

Mother:

Clara Teresa Sproat

colleague:

Neil Armstrong

Wife:

Annie Glenn

An important factor in Glenn's childhood, and arguably the biggest influence in his life, was a girl named Anna Margaret Castor. Known as Annie, she was the daughter of Dr. Homer Castor, the town dentist. He and his wife, Margaret, were good friends of John and Clara Glenn. Due to this friendship, John Glenn, Jr. and Annie Castor grew up together from infancy. The couple starting dating seriously while in high school, were married on April 6, 1943, and became the parents of John David Glenn and Carolyn Ann Glenn in the late 1940s. A talented musician, Annie played the trombone, piano, and pipe organ and graduated in 1942 from Muskingum College with a degree in music. Although hampered most of her life by a severe stuttering problem, Annie never let her disability impinge upon her independence. In March 1964, for example, when John Glenn became bedridden due to an accident during his first run for the United States Senate she undertook a full schedule of public appearances in an effort to keep his campaign active. She overcame her impediment in the late 1970s through extensive speech therapy and became a national spokesperson advocating programs for those with speech and hearing disabilities. As she has done throughout her life, Annie continued to be John Glenn's biggest supporter and most insightful critic.

Son:

John David Glenn

Daughter:

Carolyn Ann Glenn

Friend:

John Kennedy

Acquaintance:

Lyndon Johnson

Acquaintance:

German Titov

colleague:

Alan Shepard

References

• The Last American Hero: The Remarkable Life of John Glenn
  2020
• John Glenn: The Life and Legacy of the First American Astronaut to Orbit Earth
  2019
• Failure Is Not an Option: Mission Control from Mercury to Apollo 13 and Beyond
  2001
• John Glenn: Young Astronaut
  2000
• Fly High, John Glenn: The Story of an American Hero
  2020
• Liftoff: A Photobiography of John Glenn
  2006
• Back in Orbit: John Glenn's Return to Space
  1998
• John Glenn: America's Astronaut
  2014