John Glenn

Posted October 4, 2007, 10:54 pm by Growing Bolder


John Glenn
Born: July 18, 1921

A genuine American hero, John Glenn served 24 years in the U.S. Senate but is best known as the first American to orbit the Earth in 1962 and the oldest person to ever fly in space in 1998. A pilot in World War ll and the Korean War, Glenn was one of America's original seven Mercury astronauts.

After the Age of Seventy

• He represented Ohio in the U.S. Senate from age 53 through age 77 (1974-1998).
• At age 77 (1998), he returned to space aboard the space shuttle Discovery on Oct. 29, 1998, becoming the oldest person to fly in space. One of the aims of this mission was to study the effects of weightlessness on the human body. These effects are similar to symptoms of aging, and the hope is that this will lead to treatments of related disorders.
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• After his retirement from the Senate, he and his wife, Annie, founded and now run The John Glenn Institute for Public Service at Ohio State University.
• Through its programs, they seek to improve the quality of public service and to encourage young people to pursue careers in government.

Quotes:

• “You know, ... old folks can have dreams, too, as well as young folks, and then work toward them. And to have a dream like this come true for me is just a terrific experience.”
• “The good lord only gave men so many hormones, and if others want to waste theirs growing hair that's up to them.”
• “The most important thing we can do is inspire young minds and to advance the kind of science, math and technology education that will help youngsters take us to the next phase of space travel.”
• “There is still no cure for the common birthday.”

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