Yuri's the bomb dude!

The first human in space.. although a conspiracy theory exists that the Russians had previously sent two other men into space who died enroute. This theory has pretty much been descredited, however. His hero status eventually got to him and he started drinking heavily. He had problems with his marriage and was embarrassed when he was injured in a holiday escapade with a young nurse. There was also speculation that he was bisexual.. if not gay. He served as a deputy in the Supreme Soviet from 1962 and became director of the Russian cosmonaut training facility. He was killed during the routine training flight of a MiG-15. There is speculation that his death was not an accident. Who knows? Those old Soviets were capable of almost anything.

A genuine hero. Like all the early astronauts, he sat at the pinnacle of a dangerous and unreliable converted weapon and said light this candle. A true pioneer, and gutsy sumbitch, and being a Russian takes nothing away from that.

Would of given him a five, except he technically was not the first man in space - to do so (by the aviation rules) he would of had to of landed safely INSIDE HIS SPACESHIP - he did not - he parachuted to earth - little known fact the soviets covered-up.

Let's light this candle!

He was the first, he gets five.