| Dear Readers, On April 12, 1961, Yuri Gagarin became the first man to reach outer space, entering orbit aboard the Vostok spacecraft. "What beauty," he described. "I saw clouds and their light shadows on the distant dear Earth." The mission took less than two hours to compete. Gagarin very nearly did not return home safely, as the spacecraft malfunctioned as he was attempting to re-enter Earth's atmosphere. The near-disaster was not revealed to the public until 1996. The event was a major step in the space race. Less than a year later, NASA managed to duplicate the Soviets' feat when John Glenn reached orbit.
Read the full story.
On April 12, 1955, the killed-virus polio vaccine developed by Dr. Jonas Salk was declared "safe, effective and potent" after a year of independent testing.
April 12 is the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Fort Sumter, the event that marked the start of the American Civil War. Our Web Guide to the Civil War directs you to sites featuring first-hand accounts of the war, personal records of soldiers, photographs, and other great primary source material.
Today is also the birthday of Beverly Cleary, author of the beloved "Ramona" books for children.
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