Yuri Gagarin, born on 9 March 1934, near Gzhatsk, Russia, U.S.S.R. [now Gagarin, Russia], was a Soviet cosmonaut who
in 1961 became the first man to travel into space.
The son of a carpenter on a collective farm. Gagarin graduated as a molder from a trade school near Moscow in 1951. He continued his studies at the industrial college at Saratov and concurrently took a course in flying. On completing this course, he entered the Soviet Air Force cadet school at Orenburg, from which he graduated in 1957.
Gagarin’s 4 3/4-ton Vostok 1 spacecraft was launched at 9:07 AM Moscow time on April 12, 1961, orbited Earth once in 1 hour 29 minutes at a maximum altitude of 187 miles (301 km), and landed at 10:55 AM in the Soviet Union. His spaceflight brought him immediate worldwide fame. He was awarded the Order of Lenin and given the titles of Hero of the Soviet Union and Pilot Cosmonaut of the Soviet Union. Monuments were raised to him, and streets were renamed in his honour across the Soviet Union.
Gagarin never went into space again but took an active part
in training other cosmonauts. He made several tours to other nations following
his historic flight, and from 1962 he served as a deputy to the Supreme Soviet.
Gagarin was killed with another pilot in the crash of a two-seat jet aircraft
while on what was described as a routine training flight. His ashes were placed
in a niche in the Kremlin
wall. After his death in 1968 the town of Gzhatsk was renamed Gagarin.
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