Which astronaut became the first human to orbit Earth during Vostok 1 in 1961?

Yuri Gagarin became the first human to orbit Earth when he flew aboard Vostok 1 on 12 April 1961.

Gagarin was a Soviet cosmonaut and military pilot. Vostok 1 launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome in what is now Kazakhstan. The spacecraft completed one orbit in about 108 minutes before returning to Earth.

Because of the spacecraft’s early design, Gagarin ejected and parachuted separately from the capsule during the descent. The mission was a major Cold War achievement and made Gagarin an international symbol of space exploration. His call sign was “Cedar.”

Alan Shepard became the first American in space less than a month later, but his Freedom 7 flight was suborbital rather than orbital. John Glenn became the first American to orbit Earth in February 1962. Gagarin later trained cosmonauts and died in a 1968 jet crash during a routine training flight.