What year was the space capsule invented in?

The concept of the space capsule was developed in the early 20th century, but the first practical space capsule, the Soviet Vostok 1, was launched in 1961, carrying Yuri Gagarin, the first human in space. Prior to that, various designs and prototypes were proposed, but the Vostok program marked the beginning of operational space capsules for human spaceflight.