John Glenn John Glenn Colonel John Herschel Glenn Jr. (July 18, 1921 – December 8, 2016) was a United States Marine Corps aviator, engineer, astronaut, businessman, and politician. He was the first American to orbit the Earth, circling it three times in 1962. Following his retirement from NASA, he served from 1974 to 1999 as a Democratic United States Senator from Ohio. Before joining NASA, Glenn was a distinguished fighter pilot in World War II, China and Korea. He shot down three MiG-15s, and was awarded six Distinguished Flying Crosses and eighteen Air Medals. In 1957, he made the first supersonic transcontinental
John Glenn Beall Jr. John Glenn Beall Jr. John Glenn Beall Jr. (June 19, 1927March 24, 2006), known as J. Glenn Beall Jr., was a Republican member of the United States Senate, representing the State of Maryland 1971–1977. He was also a member of the Maryland House of Delegates from 1962 to 1968, and the U.S. House of Representatives from the sixth district of Maryland from 1969 to 1971. His father, James Glenn Beall, was also a senator and representative from Maryland. Beall was born in Cumberland, Maryland, served in the United States Navy from 1945 to 1946, and graduated from Yale University in