Modern Era · Central Asia · Science
1961
Gagarin orbits the Earth
April 12, 1961
In a Soviet capsule the size of a small bathroom, twenty-seven-year-old fighter pilot Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space. A hundred and eight minutes around the earth; a parachute ejection over a Russian field; a peasant woman asking if he was a spy. The Cold War's race had entered orbit, and the West was losing.
Appears in
In context
Also in 1961 (4 other events on record)
- Berlin Wall goes up · Europe · Politics
- Bay of Pigs fails · North America · Politics
- Eisenhower warns of military-industrial complex · North America · Politics
- Catch-22 published · North America · Culture
Before and after in Central Asia
Before and after in Science
- Before: 1960: The Pill approved
- After: 1962: Silent Spring published
Era
Modern Era (1901–2000), one of 590 events from that era on Saeculum.
Sources