John Glenn, First American to Orbit the Earth, Dies at 95

John Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth, died today (Dec. 8). He was 95.

The former astronaut and U.S. senator was being hospitalized at the Wexner Medical Center at Ohio State University in Columbus when he died. In 2014, Glenn suffered a minor stroke, affecting his vision, after undergoing heart-valve replacement surgery.

"We are saddened by the loss of Sen. John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth. A true American hero. Godspeed, John Glenn. Ad astra," NASA wrote on Twitter. [John Glenn: An American Hero's Greatest Moments]

The last of NASA's original seven astronauts to die, Glenn circled the world three times on board the Mercury capsule "Friendship 7" before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean on Feb. 20, 1962.

"Zero-g and I feel fine," Glenn reported to the ground five minutes into the flight. "Oh, that view is tremendous."

Thirty-six years later, at the age of 77, he returned to orbit aboard the space shuttle Discovery, becoming the oldest person, worldwide, to fly into space.A colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps who flew combat flights during World War II and the Korean War, Glenn served for 25 years as a U.S. senator representing his home state of Ohio. He was honored with theCongressional Gold Medal and thePresidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honors awarded by the United States.

Glenn was named an astronaut in April 1959,  two years after he set a transcontinental speed record flying a jet from California to New York in three hours and 23 minutes. On his historic flight in 1962, Glenn made three revolutions of the Earth on board the Mercury-Atlas 6 orbital mission in just four hours and 55 minutes.