Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin 9 March 1934 – 27 March 1968) was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut. He was the first human being to journey…Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin 9 March 1934 – 27 March 1968) was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut. He was the first human being to journey into outer space, when his Vostok spacecraft completed an orbit of the Earth on April 12, 1961.