Glenn, John, Jr.

Glenn, John (Herschel), Jr. (1921–  ) astronaut, U.S. senator; born in Cambridge, Ohio. A decorated World War II and Korean War fighter pilot, he piloted the first non-stop supersonic flight from Los Angeles to New York (1957). As one of the first group of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration astronauts (1959), he was the first American to orbit the earth in space; it was a three-orbit flight in the Mercury "Friendship 7" capsule (1962). Vice-president and director of Royal Crown Soda (1962–74), he was elected senator from Ohio (1975); although frequently promoted as a presidential candidate, he was never nominated.