Born of peasant stock in the village of Klushino,
Smolensk, March 9, 1934. Awarded his wings in the
Soviet Air Force 1957. Honor graduate of the Zhukovsky
Air Force Engineering Academy 1967. Selected from all
test pilots of the USSR as being the most dedicated and
professionally skilled, and to have the honor and
responsibility for accomplishing an historic mission
into the unknown.
The Columbus of the Cosmos. Pilot in the epic flight of
man's first step toward the stars. In the Vostok I spacecraft
on April 12, 1961, launched from Baiknur, he endured the rigors
of high G forces, weightlesness, re-entry, to become the first
human space pilot. Flight time 108 minutes.
Died while performing test pilot duties March 27, 1968.
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