Major Yuri A. Gagarin was a Soviet/Russian cosmonaut, Air Force pilot, and parachutist who at age 27 became the first man in history to go into space and orbit the Earth. Yuri Gagarin's parents were peasants on a collective farm in the village of Gzhatsk.

Gagarin was the preferred candidate for the historic feat because of his short stature and presence of mind. After the mission, he became the deputy After his success, Gagarin became a national asset who could not be lost. In order to safeguard his life, he was banned from further space flights after the...

GAGARIN.

Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin, (Russian: Ю́рий Алексе́евич Гага́рин, Jurij Aleksejevič Gagarin Russian pronunciation: [ˈjurʲɪj ɐlʲɪˈksʲeɪvʲɪtɕ gɐˈgarʲɪn]; March 9, 1934 - March 27, 1968), Hero of the Soviet Union, was a Soviet cosmonaut.

Yuri Gagarin, Moscow, Russia. 18K likes. On 12 April 1961, Gagarin became the first human to travel into space, launching to orbit aboard the Vostok...

Yuri Gagarin, Soviet cosmonaut who on April 12, 1961, became the first man to travel into space. His Vostok 1 spacecraft orbited Earth once in 1 hour 29 minutes at a maximum altitude of 187 miles, bringing Gagarin immediate worldwide fame. Learn more about Gagarin in this article.

11th July 1961: Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin driving through the streets of London in a convertible with a personalised number plate 'YG 1'. (Photo by Bob Haswell/Express/Getty Images).