Today in History: April 12, Yuri Gagarin becomes first human in space

This day is Saturday April the nd day of There are days left in the year Currently in history On April Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space orbiting the earth once before landing safely via parachute after a planned ejection from his space capsule Also on this date In the U S Civil War began as Confederate forces opened fire on Fort Sumter in South Carolina Related Articles In current times in History April the liberation of Buchenwald In current times in History April Northern Ireland s Good Friday Agreement In the modern day in History April Robert E Lee surrenders to Ulysses S Grant at Appomattox Trump says high tariffs may have prevented the Great Depression History says different At present in History April tennis great Arthur Ashe announces AIDS assessment In President Franklin D Roosevelt died of a cerebral hemorrhage in Warm Springs Georgia at age he was succeeded by Vice President Harry S Truman In Bill Haley and His Comets recorded Rock Around the Clock a song often cited as bringing rock n roll music into the mainstream when it was popularized in the film The Blackboard Jungle the following year In the polio vaccine developed by Jonas Salk was declared safe and effective following nearly a year of field trials undertaken by about million American child participants dubbed polio pioneers In civil rights leader the Rev Martin Luther King Jr was arrested and jailed in Birmingham Alabama charged with contempt of court and parading without a permit During his time behind bars King wrote his Letter from Birmingham Jail In the NASA Space Shuttle scheme began as Space Shuttle Columbia the world s first reusable spacecraft lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center In the modern day s Birthdays Musician Herbie Hancock is Musician John Kay Steppenwolf is Actor Ed O Neill is TV host David Letterman is Author Scott Turow is Actor Andy Garcia is Movie director Walter Salles SAL -ihs is Country musician Vince Gill is Actor-comedian Retta is Actor Claire Danes is Actor Jennifer Morrison is Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard is Model-actor Brooklyn Decker is Actor-comedian Ilana Glazer is Actor Saoirse SUR -shuh Ronan is