PHOTOS: The life of American icon John Glenn

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Thursday, December 8, 2016
July 18, 1957 Maj. John H. Glenn Jr., gets a congratulatory kiss from his wife Annie following a Pentagon ceremony honoring him for his record-breaking transcontinental flight.
Mercury astronaut John Glenn, and his wife, Annie Glenn ride in the back of a limosine with Vice-President Johnson during a parade in Glenn's honor, Feb. 26, 1962.
Former astronaut and senator John Glenn, left, sits with Walkersville (Md.) Elementary School students Thursday, May 6, 2004 at Space Day in Chantilly, Va.
Retired Sen. John Glenn, D-OH, listens as candidate Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass, speaks at a campaign rally at Lorain County Community College in Elyria, Ohio Saturday, Oct. 9, 2004.
Former astronaut John Glenn holds a news conference from his bed at a Lackland Air Force Base hospital, Monday, March 30, 1964, San Antonio, Tex.
A present for an Astronauts wife Annie Glenn, left, wife of U.S. Astronaut John Glenn, center, receives a plate, Sept. 29, 1965, Frankfurt, West Germany.
Astronaut John Glenn and President John F. Kennedy inspect the Friendship 7, the Mercury capsule which Glenn rode in orbit. In background right is Vice President Lyndon Johnson.
Former astronaut and retired Ohio Sen. John Glenn testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, July 30, 2008, before the House Science and Technology Committee.
Sen. John Glenn, D-Ohio, waves as he leaves the Operations and Checkout Building Thursday morning Oct. 29, 1998 at Kennedy Space Center.
Astronauts Alan Shepard, John Glenn and Virgil I. Grissom in May 1961. (AP Photo)
President Barack Obama awards the Medal of Freedom to astronaut John Glenn during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, May 29, 2012.
In this June 28, 2016, photo, former U.S. Sen. John Glenn waits for the start of the renaming of Port Columbus International Airport as John Glenn Columbus International Airport
FILE - In this Feb. 20, 2012, file photo, U.S. Sen. John Glenn talks with astronauts on the International Space Station via satellite in Columbus, Ohio.
FILE - This May 1961 file photo shows astronauts, from left, Virgil I. Grissom, John Glenn and Alan Shepard.
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PHOTOS: The life of American icon John GlennJuly 18, 1957 Maj. John H. Glenn Jr., gets a congratulatory kiss from his wife Annie following a Pentagon ceremony honoring him for his record-breaking transcontinental flight.
AP

John Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth, died Thursday at age 95.

Take a look back at his life and his iconic career as an astronaut and a U.S. senator in the gallery above.