April, 1961
On April 12, 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin (1934–1968) became the first human in space, orbiting Earth for 108 minutes in his Vostok 1 spacecraft. One month after Herblock drew this cartoon, Alan Shepard (1923–1998), in his Mercury spacecraft, became the first American in space. Herblock takes the high road in this cartoon—rather than begrudging the Soviets’ winning the space race, he celebrates the wonder of exploring the cosmos.
On April 12, 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin (1934–1968) became the first human in space, orbiting Earth for 108 minutes in his <em>Vostok 1</em> spacecraft. One month after Herblock drew this cartoon, Alan Shepard (1923–1998), in his <em>Mercury</em> spacecraft, became the first American in space. Herblock takes the high road in this cartoon—rather than begrudging the Soviets’ winning the space race, he celebrates the wonder of exploring the cosmos.