Yuri Gagarin was born March 9, 1934 (Klushino, Russia)
Died March 27, 1968 (Near Moscow, Russia).

In 1957 the former Soviet Union launched Sputnik,
the first man-made space satellite object.
Four years later, on April 12, 1961, Soviet cosmonaut (astronaut) number 1
Yuri Gagarin made a successful orbit of Earth aboard the spacecraft Vostok.
As the first human to fly in space, Gagarin represented a technical triumph for the Soviet Union.

Although Gagarin did not make another space flight,
he remained a national hero and a leader in Russia's cosmonaut training program.
His death during a training mission in 1968 was mourned throughout the Soviet Union.