Astronaut John Glenn, the 1st American to Orbit Earth, died

Former US astronaut John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth, died on 8 December 2016. He was 95. 
●    John Glenn was best known for circling the earth in 1962. He circled the planet aboard the Friendship 7 space capsule. 
●    This achievement of Glenn marked the moment the US caught up with the Soviet Union in manned space exploration.
●    After returning to Earth, Glenn was elected in 1974 as a Democrat to the US Senate, where he served for 24 years.
●    He was the last of NASA's original seven astronauts to die.
●    He was the colonel in the US Marine Corps and flew combat flights during the Second World War and Korean War.
●    He was a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honours awarded by the United States and Congressional Gold Medal.
●    In 1959, he was named as an astronaut. 
●    He was named as the astronaut after he set a transcontinental speed record flying a jet to New York from California in three hours and 23 minutes.
●    Glenn served as an advisor to NASA until 1964.