Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin (1934 –1968), the Soviet pilot and cosmonaut, travelling in the Vostok 1 capsule, completed one orbit of Earth on this day in 1961, becoming the first human to journey into outer space. Deemed a major milestone in the Space Race, he was awarded many medals and titles, including Hero of the Soviet Union, his nation’s highest honour.
Vostok 1 was Gagarin’s only spaceflight, but he served as the backup crew to the Soyuz 1 mission, which ended in a fatal crash, killing his friend and fellow cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov. Fearful that a national hero might be killed, Soviet officials banned Gagarin from further spaceflights. After completing training at the Zhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy in February 1968, he was allowed to fly regular aircraft. Gagarin died five weeks later when the MiG-15 training jet he was piloting with flight instructor Vladimir Seryogin crashed near the town of Kirzhach.
-Wikipedia
Photo Caption – Gagarin as an air cadet in the Saratov flying club c. 1954 – encyclopedia.mil.ru