His boy-next-door grin and outsized helmet became a staple of Soviet stamps while his heroism turned into a subject of elementary school literature that became comparable to the teachings of Lenin.
Photo: 27-year old Soviet cosmonaut Major Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin (1934 - 1968) on his way to his spaceship Vostok, in which he made the first ever manned space flight. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)