Jake Garn facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jake Garn
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| United States Senator from Utah |
|
| In office December 21, 1974 – January 3, 1993 |
|
| Preceded by | Wallace F. Bennett |
| Succeeded by | Bob Bennett |
| 28th Mayor of Salt Lake City | |
| In office December 1972 – December 20, 1974 |
|
| Preceded by | J. Bracken Lee |
| Succeeded by | Conrad B. Harrison |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Edwin Jacob Garn
October 12, 1932 Richfield, Utah, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouses |
Hazel Rae Thompson
(m. 1957; died 1976)Kathleen Brewerton
(m. 1977; died 2018) |
| Children | 6 |
| Education | University of Utah (BS) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service |  United States Navy |
| Years of service | 1956–1960 (active) 1963–1979 (reserve) |
| Unit | Utah Air National Guard |
| Space career | |
| NASA payload specialist (congressional observer) |
|
|
Time in space
|
6d 23h 55m |
| Missions | STS-51-D |
|
Mission insignia
|
 |
Edwin Jacob "Jake" Garn (born October 12, 1932) is an American politician from Utah. He is a member of the Republican Party. He served as a United States Senator from 1974 to 1993.
Garn made history by becoming the first member of the United States Congress to fly in space. He flew aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery in 1985. Before becoming a senator, he was the mayor of Salt Lake City.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Jake Garn was born in Richfield, Utah, on October 12, 1932. His father was a pilot during World War I.
Jake attended East High School, Clayton Middle School, and Uintah Elementary School. He went on to the University of Utah. In 1955, he earned a degree in business and finance.
Public Service Career
Before his political career, Jake Garn worked as an insurance executive. He also had a long and impressive military career as a pilot.
Military Service
Garn served in the United States Navy as a pilot, flying planes like the Martin P5M Marlin. He also flew for the Utah Air National Guard. There, he piloted large refueling aircraft such as the Boeing KC-97L and KC-135A.
He retired from the military as a colonel in 1979. After his space mission, he was promoted to brigadier general. By the time he flew into space, he had already spent 17,000 hours flying military aircraft.
Political Roles
Before becoming a senator, Garn served on the Salt Lake City commission for four years. In 1971, he was elected as the mayor of Salt Lake City. He took office in 1972. He was the last Republican to serve as mayor of Salt Lake City for many years.
Garn was also very involved with city and town organizations in Utah. He was president of the Utah League of Cities and Towns in 1972. He also held leadership roles in the National League of Cities.
Serving in the Senate
Jake Garn was first elected to the United States Senate in 1974. He took over from Senator Wallace F. Bennett. Garn was re-elected twice, serving until 1993. In 1980, he won his re-election with 74 percent of the vote. This was the biggest victory in a statewide race in Utah's history at that time.
As a senator, Garn led important committees. He was chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee. This committee deals with banks, homes, and city development. He also served on the Senate Appropriations Committee. This committee decides how the government spends money. Garn retired from the Senate in 1992.
Spaceflight Experience
Jake Garn's most famous achievement was flying into space. He asked to fly on the Space Shuttle because he was in charge of the Senate committee that funded NASA. He also had a lot of flying experience.
The Mission: STS-51-D
The STS-51-D mission launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida in April 1985. The main goals were to launch two communication satellites. The crew also performed experiments, including some on how the human body reacts to space.
Garn's role on the mission was a "payload specialist." This meant he was a congressional observer. He also participated in medical experiments to study space adaptation syndrome, which is what happens when your body adjusts to space.
Space Sickness and Legacy
During his time in space, Garn experienced severe space sickness. It was so well-known that astronauts jokingly created a scale for space sickness based on him. The highest level of sickness was called "one Garn."
Even though he got sick, Garn was in excellent physical shape and had been flying since he was 16. Astronaut Charles Bolden said Garn was "the ideal candidate" because he was a skilled Navy pilot with more flight hours than many astronauts.
NASA later named a training facility after him: the Jake Garn Mission Simulator and Training Facility. This facility is where astronauts train for Space Shuttle and Space Station missions.
After his space journey, Garn co-wrote a novel called Night Launch in 1989. The book is about terrorists taking control of the Space Shuttle.
Personal Life
Jake Garn has been married twice. His first wife was Hazel Rhae Thompson. They married in 1957 and had four children: Jacob, Susan, Ellen, and Jeffrey. Hazel passed away in a car accident in 1976.
In 1977, he married Kathleen Brewerton. Kathleen had a son, Brook, from a previous marriage. Jake and Kathleen had two children together, Matthew and Jennifer. Kathleen passed away in 2018. Jake Garn is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
In 1986, Garn showed his strong family bond by donating a kidney to his daughter, Susan. She needed a kidney because of her diabetes.
Images for kids
-
Garn in 1985
