April 12, 1961: The First Human in Space

Yuri Gagarin, the Soviet cosmonaut who was the first human in space. He orbited Earth in his Vostok 1 spacecraft for 108 minutes. The first human being broke free of the gravity bond with Earth, and orbited the planet.

Gagarin became an international celebrity at the time. He received the USSR’s highest honor, the Hero of the Soviet Union.