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  1. On this day - 12 April

On this day - 12 April

Historical items of interest as featured in the papers of the day.

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First manned spaceflight

Daily Express 12/04/1961

The first orbital space flight took place on April 12th 1961, with Yuri Gagarin completing a full orbit around the Earth. The Vostok 3KA spacecraft was used on this mission, known as Vostok 1 The flight took 108 minutes to complete. At the end of the trip, Gagarin parachuted from his spacecraft down to Earth. His spaceship landed separately, also via parachute.

In the USSR, April 12th was celebrated as Cosmonautics Day. This was adopted by the United Nations in 2011 who declared the day International Day of Human Space Flight.

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Clinton found to be in contempt of court

Daily Express 12/04/1999
On April 12th 1999 Bill Clinton was found to have been in contempt of court for intentionally providing false testimony when giving evidence in the Jones v. Clinton civil case. This was in relation to his relationship with Monica Lewinsky. Clinton was fined $90,000 and, as he still had a license to practice law, was referred to the Supreme Court Professional Conduct Committee in Arkansas.

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