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1-9 of 9
- Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin became the first man to enter deep space on April 12, 1961, when the Soviet cosmonaut made a flight that orbited Earth lasting one hour and 48 minutes in his Vostok 1 spacecraft. This accomplishment made the smiling Soviet pilot internationally famous as the first man to venture into space, the final frontier. The feat beat the Americans, who put Alan Shepherd into space in a sub-orbital flight on May 5, 1961, and did not have an astronaut orbit the earth until John Glenn accomplished the feat on February 20, 1962.
The perpetually smiling Gagarin, who was promoted from senior lieutenant to major in the Soviet Air Force and was awarded the honor Hero of the Soviet Union for his accomplishment, became an international celebrity. He made many trips to foreign lands, including three to the United Kingdom, to publicize the Soviet space program that, since its inception with Sputnik in 1957, had been more advanced than that of the United States. Thus, Gagarin was a prime pawn in the propaganda wars between the two countries at the height of the Cold War.
He was appointed a deputy to the Supreme Soviet in 1962 before he went back to the Soviet cosmonaut training facility, Star City, where the extremely bright Gargarin worked designing reusable spacecraft. He eventually was promoted to the rank of full Colonel of the Soviet Air Force. His celebrity was still so great, the Soviet government refused to let him return to space, though he eventually was chosen as one of the astronauts for the Soviet moon landing program. Though he had been trained as jet fighter pilot, his superiors limited his flight time so as not to lose one of the USSR's greatest heroes of the Cold War period.
Gagarin was chosen as the backup pilot for the Soyuz 1 flight, the first flight of a program that was intended to put a Soviet cosmonaut on the moon by 1968. The flight was made by team leader Vladimir Komarov, and the launch of Soyuz 1 was opposed by Gagarin due to safety concerns. Gararin was right: the Soyyz I capsule crashed after re-entry on April 24, 1967, making Komarov the first person to die during a space flight. After the incident, Gagarin again was banned from participating in the manned space program as an active cosmonaut. He was appointed deputy training director of Star City.
The 34-year-old Gagarin died on March 27, 1968 during a routine training flight in a MiG-15UTI. The ashes of Gagarin and co-pilot Vladimir Seryogin were entombed in the Kremlin and Star City was renamed in his honor.
Soviet space program architect Sergei P. Korolev claimed that Gagarin had a smile "that lit up the Cold War". But for the crash of Soyuz 1 (which signaled the ultimate failure of the Soviet moonshot program), Gagarin, the first man in space, might have been the first on the moon. He was honored by American astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, the first men on the moon, when they left behind a bag containing medals commemorating Gagarin and Komarov on the lunar surface. - Maruja Grifell was born on 6 February 1907 in Tampico, Tamaulipas, Mexico. She was an actress, known for Todo un caballero (1947), Necesito dinero (1951) and Another Dawn (1943). She was married to Manuel Esperante. She died on 27 March 1968 in Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico.
- John Lester Johnson was born in Suffolk, Virginia (his death certificate states South Carolina) on August 13, 1893. His middle name was Leslie, according to an "Ebony" magazine article about Johnson (January 1960), but he changed it to to Lester when he left Virginia in 1910 for New York City, hoping to make a career in boxing. He had been fighting since his early teens. Johnson's first professional fight was in 1911 against Joe Jeannette in New York, but he lost the 10-round event on a decision. Described by sportswriters of the time as a "giant of a man" or as "a hulking ton of coal", he really was just a good-sized light-heavyweight. His fighting weight varied between 173 and 185 pounds. The Harlem Sporting Club in New York City was the scene of what may have been the first integrated professional boxing event, on July 13, 1916. Johnson's opponent was Jack Dempsey, who was still unknown at that time, but had been attracting some attention in the Western states. During the fight, Johnson proved to be a very worthwhile match against Dempsey, for in the second round, he broke three of Dempsey's ribs. The fight did continue, however, for a total of ten rounds, with no decision. Some of the sportswriters gave Dempsey the winning title, but Dempsey himself denied winning. He said, "I didn't know how to fight then, and he (Johnson) did. I think he won, and he taught me more that night than I had ever dreamed before". For the bout, Dempsey was paid $100, Johnson $200. Johnson continued boxing for several more years, eventually making his way to California. Denied his chance at the championship, he drifted into boxing obscurity. He helped support himself by taking bit parts in motion pictures. He also worked as a night watchman for the Armed Forces General Services Center in Maywood, Los Angeles. John Lester Johnson appeared in many movies of the 1930s and 1940s, in small parts, usually as a doorman, a slave, a criminal, a witch doctor, and at least once as a policeman. He did have one "starring" role, however, in the Our Gang 1933 short, "The Kid From Borneo". In this movie, he played Bumbo, "The Wild Man from Borneo". As Bumbo, he had a craving for candies, and every time he saw some, he'd say in a low, growling-like voice, "YUM-YUM! EAT' EM UP!" Johnson suffered a series of disabling strokes in the late 1950s, he resided at the Veterans Administration Hospital in West Los Angeles until his death, at age 74, on March 27, 1968. His wife, the former Lulu Dill, survived. Johnson is interred at the Evergreen Cemetery in Los Angeles.
- William Colt MacDonald was born on 2 December 1891 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. William Colt was a writer, known for Pals of the Saddle (1938), The Wyoming Whirlwind (1932) and Three Texas Steers (1939). William Colt died on 27 March 1968 in Lakeport, California, USA.
- Raymond Maurel was born on 16 August 1892 in Saint-Lô, Manche, France. He was an actor, known for À minuit, le 7 (1937), L'amour qu'il faut aux femmes (1934) and Inspecteur Grey (1936). He died on 27 March 1968 in Paris, France.
- Actress
Yudif Glizer was born on 23 February 1904. She was an actress, known for Strike (1925), Vosstaniye rybakov (1934) and Deserter (1933). She died on 27 March 1968 in Moscow, RSFSR, USSR [now Russia].- Hanns Kurth was born on 25 March 1894 in Vienna, Austria-Hungary [now Austria]. He was an actor, known for Märchen vom Glück (1949), Pastorale (1921) and 1. April 2000 (1952). He died on 27 March 1968 in Vienna, Austria.
- Actor
- Writer
Eduard Tinn was born on 18 January 1899 in Hummuli vald, Estonia. He was an actor and writer, known for Lurich (1984), Elu tsitadellis (1947) and Sportlik sajand (1977). He died on 27 March 1968 in Tallinn, Estonian SSR, USSR.- Composer
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Boris Mokrousov was born on 27 February 1909 in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. He was a composer, known for Neulovimye mstiteli (1967), Bride with a Dowry (1953) and Vesna na Zarechnoy ulitse (1956). He died on 27 March 1968 in Moscow, Russia.