American astronaut and politician. On February 20, 1962, aboard Friendship 7, he became the first American to orbit the earth. He served as U.S. senator from Ohio for four consecutive terms (1974-1998). In 1998 he became the oldest person to participate in a space flight mission as a crew member of the space shuttle Discovery. Close Glenn Curtiss Glenn Hammond Glenn John Herschel Jr. Gould Glenn Herbert Jones George Glenn Miller Alton Glenn Seaborg Glenn Theodore Glenn Scobey Warner
{i} male first name; family name; John Glenn (born 1921), American astronaut and former U.S. Senator from Ohio, first American to orbit the Earth (in 1962), oldest man to travel in space (in 1998)
made the first orbital rocket-powered flight by a United States astronaut in 1962; later in United States Senate (1921-)
born March 19, 1947, Greenwich, Conn., U.S. U.S. actress. She made her Broadway debut in 1974 and later starred in Barnum (1980), The Real Thing (1984, Tony Award), and Death and the Maiden (1992, Tony Award). Her film debut in The World According to Garp (1982) was followed by roles in films such as The Natural (1984), Fatal Attraction (1987), and Dangerous Liaisons (1989). She also starred in the acclaimed television film Sarah, Plain and Tall (1991) and later returned to Broadway in Sunset Boulevard (1995, Tony Award)
born May 21, 1878, Hammondsport, N.Y., U.S. died July 23, 1930, Buffalo, N.Y. U.S. aviation pioneer. He initially built engines for motorcycles. In 1904 he built a motor for a dirigible, and in 1908 he flew an experimental plane to win the first public U.S. flight of 1 km (0.6 mi). In 1911 he built the first practical seaplane and was awarded the first contract to build airplanes for the U.S. Navy. His factories later supplied planes to Britain and Russia as well. His best-known plane was the JN-4, or "Jenny," a trainer widely used in World War I and later by barnstormers. His company later merged with the Wright Company to become the Curtiss-Wright Corporation
a Canadian pianist known especially for playing piano music by J.S. Bach (1932-82). born Sept. 25, 1932, Toronto, Ont., Can. died Oct. 4, 1982, Toronto Canadian pianist. The acclaim that greeted Gould's first recording of Bach's Goldberg Variations (1955) led him to abandon his interest in composition and to instead develop an international career as a pianist. His interpretations of Bach (and occasionally of other composers) set a new standard with their technical brilliance and subtle intelligence. Famously eccentric, he often wore gloves while playing and was intensely hypochondriac. Never happy performing, in 1964 he left the concert stage forever for the recording studio. He later composed radio "documentaries" (including The Idea of North) that fall somewhere between typical examples of the genre and musique concrète
born May 21, 1878, Hammondsport, N.Y., U.S. died July 23, 1930, Buffalo, N.Y. U.S. aviation pioneer. He initially built engines for motorcycles. In 1904 he built a motor for a dirigible, and in 1908 he flew an experimental plane to win the first public U.S. flight of 1 km (0.6 mi). In 1911 he built the first practical seaplane and was awarded the first contract to build airplanes for the U.S. Navy. His factories later supplied planes to Britain and Russia as well. His best-known plane was the JN-4, or "Jenny," a trainer widely used in World War I and later by barnstormers. His company later merged with the Wright Company to become the Curtiss-Wright Corporation
born Sept. 25, 1932, Toronto, Ont., Can. died Oct. 4, 1982, Toronto Canadian pianist. The acclaim that greeted Gould's first recording of Bach's Goldberg Variations (1955) led him to abandon his interest in composition and to instead develop an international career as a pianist. His interpretations of Bach (and occasionally of other composers) set a new standard with their technical brilliance and subtle intelligence. Famously eccentric, he often wore gloves while playing and was intensely hypochondriac. Never happy performing, in 1964 he left the concert stage forever for the recording studio. He later composed radio "documentaries" (including The Idea of North) that fall somewhere between typical examples of the genre and musique concrète
a US musician, band leader, and composer, whose swing music was very popular during World War II. His most famous pieces of music are In the Mood and Moonlight Serenade (1904-44). born March 1, 1904, Clarinda, Iowa, U.S. died Dec. 16, 1944, at sea U.S. trombonist and leader of one of the most popular dance bands of the swing era. Miller formed his band in 1937. His music was characterized by the precise execution of arrangements that featured a clarinet leading the saxophone section. Miller disbanded in 1942 to join the war effort by leading a military band. He was traveling from London to Paris by plane when the craft disappeared over the English Channel and was never recovered. His recordings of numbers such as "Moonlight Sonata," "Chattanooga Choo-Choo," "In the Mood," and "String of Pearls" are classics of the era
born April 19, 1912, Ishpeming, Mich., U.S. died Feb. 25, 1999, Lafayette, Calif. U.S. nuclear chemist. Born to Swedish parents, he pursued graduate study at the University of California at Berkeley. Working with John Livingood, Emilio Segré, and others, he discovered some 100 isotopes, including many that would prove to be of major importance, such as iodine-131 and technetium-99. However, his best-known work would involve the isolation and identification of transuranium elements. In 1941 he and his colleagues discovered plutonium. He went on to discover and isolate the elements americum, curium, berkelium, californium, einsteinium, fermium, mendelevium, and nobelium (atomic numbers 95-102). He joined the Manhattan Project in 1942 and was instrumental in the development of the atomic bomb, which he pleaded unsuccessfully with Pres. Truman not to use on civilian targets. He shared a 1951 Nobel Prize with Edwin Mattison McMillan (1907-91). Prediction of new elements' chemical properties and placement in the periodic table was helped greatly by an important organizing principle enunciated by Seaborg, the actinide concept. He served as head of the Atomic Energy Commission (1961-71). A strong advocate of nuclear disarmament, he led the negotiations that eventuated in the Limited Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty (1963) and later played a leading role in the passage of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. In 1997 his name was given to the new element seaborgium, the first time a living person had been so honoured
{i} Glenn Theodore Seaborg (1912-1999), United States chemist and co-discoverer of plutonium who was the chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission from 1961 to 1971, co- winner of the 1951 Nobel prize in Chemistry together with Edwin McMillan
born April 19, 1912, Ishpeming, Mich., U.S. died Feb. 25, 1999, Lafayette, Calif. U.S. nuclear chemist. Born to Swedish parents, he pursued graduate study at the University of California at Berkeley. Working with John Livingood, Emilio Segré, and others, he discovered some 100 isotopes, including many that would prove to be of major importance, such as iodine-131 and technetium-99. However, his best-known work would involve the isolation and identification of transuranium elements. In 1941 he and his colleagues discovered plutonium. He went on to discover and isolate the elements americum, curium, berkelium, californium, einsteinium, fermium, mendelevium, and nobelium (atomic numbers 95-102). He joined the Manhattan Project in 1942 and was instrumental in the development of the atomic bomb, which he pleaded unsuccessfully with Pres. Truman not to use on civilian targets. He shared a 1951 Nobel Prize with Edwin Mattison McMillan (1907-91). Prediction of new elements' chemical properties and placement in the periodic table was helped greatly by an important organizing principle enunciated by Seaborg, the actinide concept. He served as head of the Atomic Energy Commission (1961-71). A strong advocate of nuclear disarmament, he led the negotiations that eventuated in the Limited Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty (1963) and later played a leading role in the passage of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. In 1997 his name was given to the new element seaborgium, the first time a living person had been so honoured
born March 1, 1904, Clarinda, Iowa, U.S. died Dec. 16, 1944, at sea U.S. trombonist and leader of one of the most popular dance bands of the swing era. Miller formed his band in 1937. His music was characterized by the precise execution of arrangements that featured a clarinet leading the saxophone section. Miller disbanded in 1942 to join the war effort by leading a military band. He was traveling from London to Paris by plane when the craft disappeared over the English Channel and was never recovered. His recordings of numbers such as "Moonlight Sonata," "Chattanooga Choo-Choo," "In the Mood," and "String of Pearls" are classics of the era
born Sept. 12, 1931, Saratoga, Texas, U.S. U.S. country music singer and songwriter. He was born to an impoverished family, which moved to Beaumont, Texas, when he was 11 years old. He sang on the streets as a youngster, and he began recording in the early 1950s. His first hit, "Why, Baby, Why" (1955), was followed by "She Thinks I Still Care," "He Stopped Loving Her Today," and many others. In 1957 he joined the Grand Ole Opry. He continued to have hits into the 1980s, including many with his former wife Tammy Wynette. His rocky personal life and career only increased his fans' enduring affection
the first US astronaut to make a journey in space in 1962. In 1974 he became a member of the US Senate for the Democratic Party, representing the state of Ohio. In 1998, he again went into space, becoming the oldest man to do so (1921-)
born , July 18, 1921, Cambridge, Ohio, U.S. U.S. astronaut and senator. He flew 59 missions as a Marine Corps pilot in World War II and 90 during the Korean War. The oldest of the seven astronauts selected in 1959 for the Mercury project's spaceflight training, he was a backup pilot for Alan B. Shepard and Virgil I. Grissom (1926-67), who made the first two U.S. suborbital flights into space. Glenn was selected for the orbital flight, and in February 1962 his space capsule, Friendship 7, was launched and made three orbits. He retired from the space program in 1964 and pursued his interest in politics, serving as U.S. Senator from Ohio (1975-99). In 1998, at age 77, he made his second spaceflight (as part of the crew of the space shuttle Discovery), becoming the oldest person to go into space
born , July 18, 1921, Cambridge, Ohio, U.S. U.S. astronaut and senator. He flew 59 missions as a Marine Corps pilot in World War II and 90 during the Korean War. The oldest of the seven astronauts selected in 1959 for the Mercury project's spaceflight training, he was a backup pilot for Alan B. Shepard and Virgil I. Grissom (1926-67), who made the first two U.S. suborbital flights into space. Glenn was selected for the orbital flight, and in February 1962 his space capsule, Friendship 7, was launched and made three orbits. He retired from the space program in 1964 and pursued his interest in politics, serving as U.S. Senator from Ohio (1975-99). In 1998, at age 77, he made his second spaceflight (as part of the crew of the space shuttle Discovery), becoming the oldest person to go into space