Today in history: On Feb. 20, 1962, astronaut John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth as he flew aboard Project Mercury’s Friendship 7 spacecraft, which circled the globe three times in a flight lasting 4 hours, 55 minutes and 23 seconds before splashing down safely in the Atlantic Ocean about 260 miles northwest of San Juan, Puerto Rico. Also on this date: In 1792, President George Washington signed an act creating the United States Post Office Department, the predecessor of