On This Day: Yuri Gagarin Was Born

On this day in history, March 9th, 1934, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin was born. On April 12, 1961, he became the first human in space, orbiting in a capsule 187 miles above the Earth’s surface in a flight lasting 108 minutes. His space flight caused a worldwide sensation that marked the beginning of the space race. President John F. Kennedy later asserted the U.S. would land a man on the moon before the end of the 1960’s.