Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin was born (March 9, 1934, Klushino, Gzhatsky (now Gagarin) district, Western region, USSR - March 27, 1968, near the village of Novosyolovo, Kirzhachsky district, Vladimir region, USSR) - USSR pilot-cosmonaut number 1, Hero of the Soviet Union, a chevalier of the highest insignia of a number of states, an honorary citizen of many Russian and foreign cities.
April 12, 1961 Yuri Gagarin became the first person in world history to fly to outer space. The launch vehicle Vostok with the Vostok-1 spacecraft carrying Gagarin was launched from the Baikonur cosmodrome. After 108 minutes of flight, Gagarin landed successfully in the Saratov region, not far from the city of Engels. Starting from April 12, 1962, the day of Gagarin's flight into space was declared a holiday - the Day of Astronautics.