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John Herschel Glenn Jr. was a Marine Corps aviator, engineer, astronaut, businessman, and politician from the United States. He was the third American in space and the first to orbit the Earth three times, in 1962. Upon his retirement from NASA, he served as a Democratic United States Senator from Ohio from 1974 to 1999; in 1998, he flew into space again at the age of 77.
John Herschel Glenn Jr. was born in Cambridge, Ohio, on July 18, 1921, and was an aviator, astronaut, engineer, and senator, but he is best known for being the first American to orbit the Earth in space.
He began his career as a fighter pilot during WWII and ended it as a Senator for 24 years.
All of his efforts contributed to his net worth returning to where it was prior to his death in 2016.
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The renowned engineer was born on July 18, 1921.
According to reports, he had a net worth of $5 million as of mid-2017, which he accumulated through achievements in politics, the military, and research. He was a part of the Mercury Seven, the first military test pilots selected by NASA to become astronauts, but it was his other achievements that ensured his position of wealth.
Glenn stands at a height of 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighs 74 kg.
The renowned astronaut holds American citizenship and belongs to the white ethnic group.
John attended New Concord High School and graduated in 1939. He then went to Muskingum College to study engineering. He earned his private pilot’s license in 1941, then following the assault on Pearl Harbor, he dropped out of college to join the US Army Air Corps, then the US Navy as an aviation cadet, and finally the US Marine Corps after advanced training at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi.
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Glenn was promoted to second lieutenant and began flying R4D cargo planes. He was then assigned to Marine Corps Air Station El Centro, where he flew Wildcat and Corsair fighters before being promoted to first lieutenant and flying 57 combat missions, earning 10 Air Medals and two Distinguished Flying Crosses. He volunteered for service with the occupation of North China in 1946 and later flew missions from Guam before working as a flight instructor and flying on weekends. In 1952, he was promoted to major and deployed to South Korea late in the Korean War, where he flew 63 combat flights and received eight more Air Medals and two Distinguished Flying Crosses.
During the war, he trained as a test pilot and made the first supersonic transcontinental flight in 1957, earning his fifth Distinguished Flying Cross and being promoted to lieutenant colonel for the operation.
John afterward applied to join the newly founded National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA).
He barely exceeded the standards for an astronaut due to his age and lack of a science degree, but after participating in spacecraft design and testing, he became one of the Mercury Seven.
After extensive training, he took the Friendship 7 flight in 1962, nearly dying due to technical difficulties, but landing safely after re-entry. He was the first American to orbit the Earth, as well as the third and fifth human in space.
John Glenn and Annie Glenn had been married for 73 years and eight months when he died in December 2016.
The couple had two children during their marriage: John David, born in 1945, and Carolyn Ann, born in 1947, as well as two grandchildren.
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