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Yuri Gagarin.

Юрий Алексеевич Гагарин

Yuri Gagarin — Astronaut
Born Klushino, Russia
Died Novoselovo, Russia
Citizenship Russia
Would Be 92 yr If Living

8 min read

Reading time

1,537

Words

Published

20

Film credits

27

Awards

TL;DR

On April 12, 1961, Yuri Gagarin became the first human to enter space, orbiting Earth once in Vostok 1. The Soviet Air Force promoted him from senior lieutenant to major during the flight, and he received the Hero of the Soviet Union. Gagarin later served as a deputy to the Supreme Soviet and died in a MiG-15 training crash on March 27, 1968.

Identity & family.

KIN · 8

Names, aliases, and relatives of Yuri Gagarin — birth name, kin, and personal ties.

Birth Name Юрий Алексеевич Гагарин
Aliases Colonel Yuri Gagarin, Jurij Gagarin, Juri Gagarin, Major Yuri Gagarin, Yuriy Gagarin, Youri Gagarine
PARENTS
Anna Gagarina Aleksey Gagarin
SPOUSES
Valentina Ivanovna Goryacheva
CHILDREN
Yelena Gagarina Galina Gagarina
SIBLINGS
Valentin Gagarin Zoya Bruevich Boris Gagarin

At a glance.

STATS

Yuri Gagarin by the numbers — life, work, and family.

34 Years lived
20 Film credits
27 Awards
1 Marriage
2 Children

Who was Yuri Gagarin?

BIOGRAPHY

Yuri Gagarin — early life, career, personal life, and legacy.

Early life

In Klushino, a village in Smolensk Oblast, Anna and Aleksey Gagarin raised their son Yuri, born on March 9, 1934. The German occupation of World War II shaped his childhood. After the war, he attended Lyubertsy technical school and then Orenburg Military Aviation Piloting High School, training as a pilot.

His older brother Valentin and sister Zoya survived the war. Gagarin’s early fascination with flight led him to join the Soviet Air Force, setting the stage for his historic space career.

Career

On April 12, 1961, Yuri Gagarin piloted Vostok 1, becoming the first human in space. The 108-minute flight made him an international celebrity, and he toured extensively to promote Soviet space achievements. The Soviet Air Force promoted him to major during the flight, and he received the Hero of the Soviet Union.

In 1962, he won election as a deputy to the Supreme Soviet. He later returned to Star City to work on reusable spacecraft designs. In 1967, he served as backup for the Soyuz 1 mission, which ended with the death of Vladimir Komarov. The Soviet government then banned Gagarin from active spaceflight, and he became deputy training director at Star City.

Personal life

On October 27, 1957, Yuri Gagarin married Valentina Ivanovna Goryacheva, a medical technician. They had two daughters: Yelena, born in 1959, and Galina, born in 1961. His parents Anna and Aleksey remained in Klushino, and his siblings Valentin, Zoya, and Boris lived nearby.

Despite his career demands, he stayed close to his family. His wife Valentina later wrote memoirs about their life together.

Legacy

Yuri Gagarin became the first human to travel into space, securing his place in history. His smile and charisma made him a symbol of Soviet space achievement. American astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin left a bag containing medals commemorating Gagarin on the lunar surface in July 1969. A crater on the Moon is named after him, and Star City was renamed in his honor.

His death in a plane crash at age 34 cut short his life, but Gagarin is remembered for his courage and pioneering feat.

Filmography.

FILMS · 20

Browse the complete filmography of Yuri Gagarin — every film, TV show, and documentary credit, ranked by popularity.

  1. TV Poster for History 101

    History 101

  2. Movie Poster for The End of a Beautiful Epoch

    The End of a Beautiful Epoch

  3. TV Poster for Chasing the Moon

    Chasing the Moon

  4. TV Poster for The Century of Icons

    The Century of Icons

  5. Movie Poster for Dark Side of the Moon

    Dark Side of the Moon

  6. TV Poster for Faith of the Century: a History of Communism

    Faith of the Century: a History of Communism

  7. Movie Poster for La Rabbia

    La Rabbia

Awards & honors.

AWARDS · 27

Every award, honor, and recognition received by Yuri Gagarin — Grammys, hall-of-fame inductions, civic honors, lifetime achievements.

  • Hero of the Soviet Union
  • Order of Lenin
  • Pilot-Cosmonaut of the USSR
  • Hero of Socialist Labour of Czechoslovakia
  • Hero of Socialist Labour
  • Order of Georgi Dimitrov
  • Order of the Cross of Grunwald, 1st class
  • Order of the Flag of the People's Republic of Hungary
  • Order of Karl Marx
  • Order of the Nile
  • Order of Klement Gottwald
  • Hero of Labour
  • Star of the Republic of Indonesia
  • Order of Playa Girón
  • Order of the Star of Africa
  • Order of Aeronautical Merit
  • Order of the Southern Cross
  • Order of the Cross of Grunwald
  • Jubilee Medal Twenty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945
  • Medal For the Development of Virgin Lands
  • Jubilee Medal 40 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR
  • Jubilee Medal 50 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR
  • Medal For Impeccable Service, 3rd class
  • Merited Master of Sports of the USSR
  • aircraft pilot qualification class
  • Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union
  • International Space Hall of Fame

Did you know?

FACTS · 10

Little-known facts about Yuri Gagarin — origins, oddities, and behind-the-scenes details from a public life.

  1. On April 12, 1961, Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space.

  2. To commemorate his feat, a crater on the moon is named after him. In July 1971, the Apollo 15 crew left a plaque on the moon in memory of 14 astronauts and cosmonauts who died, including Gagarin.

  3. From 1962, he served as a deputy to the Supreme Soviet, but later returned to Star City to work on reusable spacecraft designs. In 1967, he was selected as backup for the Soyuz 1 launch, which ended fatally when the parachute failed.

  4. After his space flight, he became a worldwide celebrity and toured extensively. The publicity exhausted him, and he reportedly began drinking heavily.

  5. The Soviet Air Force promoted him from senior lieutenant to major while he was in orbit, and TASS announced him at that rank during the flight.

  6. Contrary to rumors, Gagarin was not drunk during his fatal flight. He passed two medical examinations, and post-mortem tests found no alcohol or drugs. A 2005 theory suggests a cabin vent was left open, causing oxygen deprivation.

  7. On March 27, 1968, he and his instructor died in a MiG-15 crash near Moscow. The cause is uncertain; a 1986 inquiry suggests turbulence from a Su-11 interceptor may have caused loss of control, compounded by poor weather.

  8. As the first Russian and first man in space, schools displayed his photo, and students were expected to salute it.

  9. Gagarin was buried in Tverskayer in Moscow.

  10. He was the uncle of Tamara Filatova.

You wanted to know.

FAQ · 29

Quick answers to the questions readers ask most about Yuri Gagarin.

Audited & updated by

Olivia Brooks

Senior Staff Writer & Biography Editor

Olivia has 6 years of experience writing biographical profiles and still approaches every subject like it's the first one. She covers everyone from debut musicians to Hall of Fame athletes to novelists most people have never heard of. She finds something worth reading in all of them. Her drafts tend to come in already clean, which her editor appreciates. She says good writing is just good thinking written down. Hard to argue with that.

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