Yuri Gagarin the Russian Cosmonaut and the first man who orbited the Earth, was born in the village Gzatsky, Russia. His father was a carpenter and the mother a housewife.
In his childhood, Yuri used to go to his father’s workshop and handle the various instruments with which the father worked. Very often he collected the pieces of wood sawed off by his dad. These pieces of wood of various sizes and shapes were made use of by Yuri to build diverse models. When he got the opportunity to help the father in his work he did it with joy and enthusiasm.
Yuri entered a mechanical and technological institute in Moscow at the age of 17. Next he joined a higher technological institute in Saratov and learned about aircraft and to fly them.
The latter qualification and the technological knowledge he had already acquired enabled him to join the Soviet Air Force. The efficiency, dedication, courage, fine personality and the good health observed by the higher officers in him and the desirable recommendations made by them, enabled Yuri to join the Soviet Space Institute.
By 1957 the U.S.A. and the Soviet Union were running a great race in the field of space exploration, and both the countries were eager to be the first in sending a man to the Earth’s orbit.
When the Soviet Space authorities were in search of the most suitable person to be sent to the space, they found Yuri, among a large number of competitors and he was selected for the mission.
On the 12th Arpril 1961 at 09.27 Moscow time the satellite Vostok-I carrying Yuri Gagarin was shot to the Earth’s orbit. During the journey around the Earth that lasted for 29 minutes, Gagarin described everything he saw, heard and experienced, clearly and beautifully to the people on Earth. Gagarin who orbited the Earth with a speed of 29,000 kilometres per hour once, returned to Earth safely at 11.00 a.m. on the same day.
Congratulations from his countrymen and those in countries all over the world poured upon Gagarin. He was awarded the prestigious honour V. I. Lenin Peace Award by the Soviet government. Not only him, but also the village he was born, the schools he studied, his parents and teachers too were honoured. A few institutions, roads and buildings both in the Soviet Union and in other countries were renamed after him.
In the Soviet Union and in a few other lands the parents gave their children born on the unforgettable historic day, the names Gagarin or Yuri in his honour.
After the great journey Yuri Gagarin served in the Soviet Cosmonautical Institute for a time. He made a number of visits to many countries of the world including Sri Lanka.
On the 27th March 1968 a small jet aircraft piloted by Gagarin met with an accident and he died on the spot.
