What Was John Glenn's Cause Of Death? Former Astronaut, Senator Is Dead At 95 In Ohio

John Glenn, the first American astronaut to orbit the Earth as well as a former U.S. senator, died Thursday, according to multiple reports. He was 95 years old.

Glenn's exact cause of death was not immediately revealed, although Columbus, Ohio news station WBNS, which first reported the news of the astronaut's death, noted he died "after suffering from several health complications in recent years."

Glenn was admitted into the James Cancer Hospital in Columbus last week, the Associated Press reported. However, communications officer Hank Wilson of Ohio State University's John Glenn College of Public Affairs told the AP that Glenn's hospitalization there did not necessarily mean he had cancer.

Glenn's health had taken a turn for the worse after suffering through a number of issues over the past few years, including a 2014 heart-valve replacement and a stroke, reported WSYX in Columbus.

Glenn, born in Cambridge, Ohio, was widely considered an American hero who did more with one life than most could do with 100. He fought in both World World II and the Korean War, orbited the Earth and served four terms in the Senate. Glenn didn't give up flying his plane until he was 90 years old. He spent 73 years married to his wife Annie, who survives him.

"We are saddened by the loss of Sen. John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth," wrote NASA on Twitter. "A true American hero. Godspeed, John Glenn. Ad astra."

Glenn made his most famous trip around the Earth in 1962, amid a Cold War and American disappointment that the Russians had gotten to space first. Upon safely entering space and looking back at the world, he relayed to ground control, "Oh, that view is tremendous!"

"As we bow our heads and share our grief with his beloved wife, Annie, we must also turn to the skies, to salute his remarkable journeys and his long years of service to our state and nation," said Ohio Gov. John Kasich in a statement Thursday.