Born: 9 March 1934 · Died: 27 March 1968 · Age: 34
Soviet cosmonaut who became the first human in space, orbiting the Earth aboard Vostok 1 on 12 April 1961
Did you know?Before becoming a pilot, he trained as a foundryman and worked in a steel plant.
Quick facts
Date of birth9 March 1934
Date of death27 March 1968
Age at death34
Cause of deathAircraft crash
NationalitySoviet
BirthplaceKlushino, Russia
Occupationcosmonaut, pilot
Editor's Take:
Yuri Gagarin's flight on 12 April 1961 lasted just 108 minutes, but it opened the age of human spaceflight. The son of a carpenter and a dairy worker on a collective farm, he trained as a fighter pilot before being selected from thousands of candidates, partly because at 1.57 metres he fitted the cramped Vostok capsule. Orbiting the Earth once, he became the first person to see the planet from space, and his cheerful "Poyekhali!" ("Let's go!") at launch became famous. Overnight he was the most celebrated man in the world, a Soviet hero touring dozens of countries. He died in a training jet crash in 1968, aged only 34.
Key Milestones
1955: Joins the Soviet Air Force
1960: Selected for cosmonaut training
1961: Orbits Earth aboard Vostok 1
1961: Named Hero of the Soviet Union
1963: Becomes deputy director of cosmonaut training
1968: Killed in a jet training crash
Soviet cosmonaut who became the first human to journey into outer space aboard Vostok 1.
Yuri Gagarin's birthday is March 9. He was born on March 9, 1934 in Klushino, Russia.
How old was Yuri Gagarin when he died?
Yuri Gagarin died on March 27, 1968, aged 34.
Who shares a birthday with Yuri Gagarin?
Famous people who share Yuri Gagarin's March 9 birthday include Yuri Gagarin, Taras Shevchenko, Amerigo Vespucci, Bobby Fischer and Vyacheslav Molotov.
