• Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin (9 March 1934 – 27 March 1968) was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut who made history by becoming the first person to travel into space. Gagarin completed one orbit of Earth in the Vostok 1 capsule on April 12, 1961.
• He became an international celebrity after completing this key milestone in the Space Race, receiving numerous medals and titles, including Hero of the Soviet Union, his country's highest honour. Gagarin was born in the Russian town of Klushino and worked as a foundryman at a steel company in Lyubertsy when he was younger.

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