In 1961, Alan Shepard became the first American in space, aboard Freedom 7.
Freedom 7’s suborbital mission lasted 15 minutes, 22 seconds and reached an altitude of 186 kilometers (116 miles). Soviet cosmonaut Yuri A. Gagarin was the first human in space, having orbited the Earth 23 days earlier.
Learn more at http://airandspace.si.edu/exhibitions/attm/rm.ey.f7.1.html