April 12th: 55th and 35th Anniversaries

The first human being to go to space and to orbit Earth was Yuri Gagarin. He did this on April 12, 1961. Here’s Gargarin’s BBC interview.

The first Shuttle launch occurred on April 12, 1981. Here’s the launch video.

BONUS: It’s author Beverly Cleary 100th birthday. Clearly was born in McMinnville, Oregon, now home of the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum. Cheers today to Ramona, the pest.