In the history of spaceflight, who became the first human to orbit Earth?

Yuri Gagarin became the first human to orbit Earth on 12 April 1961.

The Soviet cosmonaut flew aboard Vostok 1, launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome in what is now Kazakhstan. His flight lasted 108 minutes and completed one orbit before the spacecraft returned to Earth.

Gagarin was 27 years old during the mission. He ejected from the capsule during descent and landed by parachute, a detail sometimes omitted from simplified accounts of the flight. The mission made him an international symbol of the Space Age.

Alan Shepard became the first American in space, but his Freedom 7 mission was suborbital. John Glenn later became the first American to orbit Earth, in February 1962. Neil Armstrong was the first person to walk on the Moon, in 1969.