John Glenn was born in Ohio. He attended college but left to join the military after the United States entered World War II. Glenn became a marine pilot in 1943. He flew 59 missions during World War II and 90 missions during the Korean War. In 1954 Glenn became a military test pilot. When the U.S. space program needed astronauts in 1959, Glenn was one of seven men selected. He flew in “Friendship 7” in 1962 to become the first American in space. He returned an American hero and in 1964 quit the space program to go into business. In 1974 Glenn won the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senator from Ohio and the election. He lost the Democratic presidential nomination to Walter Mondale in 1984. Reelected to the Senate in 1986 and 1992, Glenn declined to run in 1998, saying he was too old. In October 1998, Glenn flew into space as part of a space shuttle mission, which tested the effects of space on older Americans.
