Soviet pilot and cosmonaut, first human in space (1934–1968)
People connected to Yuri Gagarin
On 12 April 1961, a Soviet pilot climbed into Vostok 1 and became the first human being to leave Earth. The 108-minute orbit made Yuri Gagarin an instant global icon and handed the USSR its biggest win in the Space Race.
Born in the village of Klushino in 1934, Gagarin worked as a foundryman in a steel plant before joining the Soviet Air Forces and flying missions near the Norwegian border. He was picked for the space programme alongside five others, and his single flight into orbit on 12 April 1961 turned him into a Hero of the Soviet Union and a deputy in both chambers of the Supreme Soviet. Vostok 1 would be his only spaceflight—after serving as backup to the fatal Soyuz 1 mission that killed his friend Vladimir Komarov, officials grounded him, unwilling to risk losing a national treasure. He became deputy…
Sourced, dated quotes from Yuri Gagarin
If all those people are getting wet to welcome me, surely the least I can do is get wet too!
I am a friend, comrades, a friend!
Dear friends, both known and unknown to me, fellow countrymen, men and women of all lands and continents!
Many people are interested in my biography.
Our people, with their genius and their heroic work, created the Vostok spaceship, wonderful in the world, and its very smart, very reliable equipment.
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