John Glenn, who became one of the 20th century's greatest heroes as the first American to orbit Earth and later as the world's oldest astronaut, has died.
The 95-year-old also had a long career as a US senator, and was the last surviving member of the original seven "Right Stuff" Mercury astronauts.
He died on Thursday at the James Cancer Hospital at Ohio State University, said Hank Wilson, a spokesman at the university's John Glenn College of Public Affairs, which Glenn helped found.
Glenn was credited with reviving US pride after the Soviet Union's early domination of manned space exploration. His three laps around the world in the Friendship 7 capsule on February 20 in 1962, forged a powerful link between the former fighter pilot and the Kennedy-era quest to explore outer space as a "New Frontier."
He instantly became a hero, receiving a ticker-tape parade in New York City and the Space Congressional Medal of Honor from President John Kennedy. In 2012, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama.
Obama said that "with John's passing, our nation has lost an icon."
"When John Glenn blasted off from Cape Canaveral atop an Atlas rocket in 1962, he lifted the hopes of a nation. And when his Friendship 7 spacecraft splashed down a few hours later, the first American to orbit the Earth reminded us that with courage and a spirit of discovery there's no limit to the heights we can reach together."
Glenn's astronaut career, as well as his record as a fighter pilot in World War 2 and the Korean War, helped propel him to the US Senate in 1974, where he represented his home state of Ohio for 24 years as a moderate Democrat.
But his star was dimmed somewhat by a Senate investigation of several senators on whether special favours were done for a major campaign contributor. He was cleared of wrongdoing.
His entry into history came in early 1961 when fellow astronaut Scott Carpenter bade him "Godspeed, John Glenn" just before the Ohio native was rocketed into space for a record-breaking trip that would last just under five hours.
"Zero-G (gravity) and I feel fine," was Glenn's succinct assessment of weightlessness several minutes into his mission. "... Oh, and that view is tremendous."
His experiences as a pioneer astronaut were chronicled in the book and movie The Right Stuff, along with the other Mercury pilots.
Before he went into space, Glenn already had a reputation as one of the best test pilots in the country, setting a transcontinental speed record by flying from Los Angeles to New York in three hours and 23 minutes in July 1957. It was the first transcontinental flight to average supersonic speed.
He earned six Distinguished Flying Crosses and flew more than 150 missions as a fighter pilot in World War 2 and the Korean War.
BACK TO SPACE
Glenn took a leading role in seeking to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, especially to Pakistan. He was the author of a law that forced the US to impose sanctions on India and Pakistan in 1998 after both countries conducted nuclear tests.
He also was a staunch advocate of a strong military and took a keen interest in strategic issues. He retired from the Senate in 1999.
Thirty-six years after his maiden space voyage, Glenn became America's first geriatric astronaut on October 29, 1998. He was 77 years old when he blasted off as a mission specialist aboard the shuttle Discovery and saw it as a blow to stereotyping of the elderly.
"Maybe prior to this flight, we were looked at as old geezers who ought to get out of the way," Glenn said after his nine-day shuttle mission.
"Just because you're up in years some doesn't mean you don't have hopes and dreams and aspirations just as much as younger people do."
John Herschel Glenn Jr. was born on July 18, 1921, in Cambridge, Ohio. In his latter years he was an adjunct professor at the John Glenn College of Public Affairs.
Glenn is survived by his wife of 73 years, his childhood sweetheart, Annie Castor. They had two children, David and Lyn.
