when was the first man in space

The first man in space was Yuri Gagarin, a Soviet cosmonaut, who orbited the Earth on April 12, 1961. His historic flight in the Vostok 1 spacecraft lasted 108 minutes and made him the first human being to journey into outer space. Gagarin's mission completed one orbit around the Earth before safely returning, marking a major milestone in space exploration and the Space Race between the Soviet Union and the United States.