In 1964, the U.S.S.R. launched the Voskhod 1, the first spacecraft to carry multiple crew members.
It was also the first mission to carry either a scientist or a physician into space. In the rush to launch the mission before the NASA Gemini flights, the crew was launched without ejection seats or an escape tower. As a result of this mission, the US-Soviet “Space Race” escalated.
Learn more at http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1964-065A.