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.
