Who became the first person to orbit Earth in 1961?

Yuri Gagarin became the first person to orbit Earth in 1961.

On 12 April 1961, the Soviet cosmonaut launched aboard Vostok 1 from Baikonur Cosmodrome. His spacecraft completed one orbit of Earth in a flight lasting 108 minutes from launch to landing. Gagarin was 27 years old and was promoted to major after the mission.

Vostok 1 was largely automated, although Gagarin carried an override code that allowed him to take manual control. He ejected from the capsule during descent and landed by parachute, a detail sometimes omitted in simplified accounts of the mission.

The flight made Gagarin an international symbol of the Space Age and a national hero in the Soviet Union. Alan Shepard became the first American in space weeks later, while John Glenn became the first American to orbit Earth in 1962. Neil Armstrong later became the first person to walk on the Moon.