Yuri Gagarin Comes to London (1961)

On 12 April 1961, Yuri Gagarin became the first human being to travel in space, completing an orbit of the earth in the Vostok 1 rocket in just 108 minutes. Months after his historic flight, the Soviet cosmonaut travelled to Britain, visiting Manchester and London. This clip, which features an interview with Gagarin conducted by ITN’s Reggie Bosanquet, shows the world-famous spaceman arriving at Buckingham Palace for an audience with Queen Elizabeth II. The final section of footage shows Gagarin laying a wreath at the grave of Karl Marx, the German philosopher whose Communist Manifesto formed the foundations of the Soviet Union. People are often surprised to learn that Karl Marx is buried in Highgate Cemetery in London! #YuriGagarin #Gagarin #Cosmonaut #SpaceRace #SovietUnion #Space To license the footage featured in this clip, follow the link below: To search the ITN Archive collection on Getty Images, follow the link below: 🎥 Subscribe to our YouTube channel (tap the bell icon and stay up to date with all the latest ITN Archive videos!) - @ITNArchive 🎥 Follow us on Twitter - 🎥 Like us on Facebook - 🎥 Check out our TikTok - @itnarchive1955