John Glenn is identified as an American.
John Herschel Glenn Jr. ( July 18 , 1921 -- December 8 , 2016 ) was a United States Marine Corps aviator , engineer , astronaut , and United States Senator from Ohio . In 1962 he was the first American to orbit the Earth , circling it three times . He was one of the Mercury Seven , military test pilots selected in 1959 by NASA as the United States ' first astronauts . On February 20 , 1962 , Glenn flew the Friendship 7 mission ; the first American to orbit the Earth , he was the fifth person in space . He received the NASA Distinguished Service Medal , the Congressional Space Medal of Honor in 1978 , was inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame in 1990 , and was the last surviving member of the Mercury Seven .