Civil War. The period between 1861-1865 was the most one of the most devastating in American history, both in terms of its death toll and its impact on the American psyche. Learn about the war and the events that precipitated it with these resources and study guides. History & Culture. Top Five Causes of the Civil War.
The first person to travel in space was Soviet cosmonaut Yuri A. Gagarin (1934-1968). His achievement brought prestige to the Soviet Union. Gagarin orbited the Earth in the spaceship Vostok I, which was launched April 12, 1961, in a flight lasting one hour and forty-eight minutes.
August 30, 1983, the space shuttle Challenger lifted off with Guion Guy Bluford, Jr., the first African American in space. The first African-American woman in space: Mae Jemison lifted off in the space shuttle Endeavour on September 12, 1992, first African American woman in space. The first space walk: Alexei Leonov, a Soviet cosmonaut, was the first person to step outside of his spacecraft while in space, on March 18, 1965.