1961

Events that occurred in the year 1961 CE.

Events

 * April 12: 27-year-old cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human in outer space, carried in the Soviet Vostok 1 spacecraft. The craft carries Gagarin for one full orbit around the globe, which lasts for 1 hour and 48 minutes.
 * May 5: Less than a month after Vostok 1, the US launches a person into space with Alan Shepard's suborbital flight in Mercury-Redstone 3.