1961
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Millennium: | 2nd millennium |
|---|---|
| Centuries: | 19th century – 20th century – 21st century |
| Decades: | 1930s 1940s 1950s – 1960s – 1970s 1980s 1990s |
| Years: | 1958 1959 1960 – 1961 – 1962 1963 1964 |
1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.
Contents |
[change] Births
- January 26 – Wayne Gretzky, Retired Canadian NHL player
- January 28 – Arnaldur Indridason, Icelandic writer
- April 1 – Susan Boyle, Scottish singer
- April 3 – Eddie Murphy, American actor and comedian
- May 6 – George Clooney, American actor
- June 4 – Ferenc Gyurcsany, former Prime Minister of Hungary
- June 9 – Michael J. Fox, Canadian actor
- June 14 – Boy George, British singer
- June 18 – Alison Moyet, British singer
- June 25 – Ricky Gervais, British comedian and actor
- July 1 – Diana, Princess of Wales (d. 1997)
- July 1 – Carl Lewis, American athlete
- July 23 – Woody Harrelson, American actor
- July 30 – Laurence Fishburne, American actor
- August 4 – Barack Obama, President of the United States of America
- August 8 – The Edge, Irish musician (U2)
- August 9 – John Key, Prime Minister of New Zealand
- September 29 – Julia Gillard, Prime Minister of Australia
- November 12 – Nadia Comaneci, Romanian gymnast
- November 19 – Meg Ryan, American actress
- November 24 – Arundhati Roy, Indian activist and author
- December 24 – Ilham Aliyev, President of Azerbaijan
- December 25 – Ingrid Betancourt, Colombian senator
- December 27 – Guido Westerwelle, German politician
- December 30 – Ben Johnson, Canadian athlete
[change] Deaths
- January 4 – Erwin Schroedinger, Austrian physicist (b. 1887)
- January 9 – Emily Greene Balch, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1867)
- January 17 – Patrice Lumumba, Congolese politician (b. 1925)
- July 2 – Ernest Hemingway, American writer (b. 1899)
- September 10 – Wolfgang von Trips, German racing driver (b. 1928)
- September 18 – Dag Hammarskioeld, UN Secretary-General (b. 1905)
- October 30 – Luigi Einaudi, Italian politician (b. 1874)
[change] Events
- John F. Kennedy becomes President of the United States.
- The Fantastic Four make their debut.
- Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human in space.
- Sierra Leone becomes independent.
- The Berlin Wall is built.
- The Vietnam War begins.
- Bay of Pigs invasion
- Rockband Golden Earring was founded
[change] Movies released
- 101 Dalmatians
- The Absent-Minded Professor
- Breakfast at Tiffany's
- Hustler
- Parent Trap
- West Side Story
[change] Hit songs
- "I Fall to Pieces" – Patsy Cline
- "Crazy" – Patsy Cline
- "Where the Boys Are" – Connie Francis
- "Running Scared" – Roy Orbison
- "Crying" – Roy Orbison
- "(I Wanna) Love My Life Away" – Gene Pitney
- "Town Without Pity" – Gene Pitney
- "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" – The Tokens
- "Calcutta" – Lawrence Welk
- "Runaround Sue" – Dion
- "Let's Go Trippin'" – Dick Dale's first local hit, regarded as first surf rock instrumental
- "Tossin' & Turnin' " – Bobby Lewis
- "Runaway" – Del Shannon
- "Garde-Moi la Dernière Danse" – Dalida
- "Nuits d'Espagne" – Dalida
- "Blue Moon" – The Marcels
- "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" – The Shirelles
- "There's No Other Like My Baby" – The Crystals' first hit
- "Please Mr. Postman" – The Marvelettes
- "Quarter To Three" – Gary U.S. Bonds
- "Shop Around" – The Miracles
- "Travelin' Man" – Ricky Nelson
- "Hello Mary Lou" – Ricky Nelson
- "Stand By Me" – Ben E. King
- "The Wanderer" – Dion
- "The Mountain's High" – Dick and Deedee
- "Big River, Big Man" – Claude King
- "The Commancheros" – Claude King
- "Moody River" – Pat Boone
- "I Love How You Love Me" – The Paris Sisters
[change] New books
- Border Country – Raymond Williams
- Casanova's Chinese Restaurant – Anthony Powell
- The Chapman Report – Irving Wallace
- Clea – Lawrence Durrell
- Don't Tell Alfred – Nancy Mitford
- For Your Eyes Only – Ian Fleming
- Green Eggs and Ham – Dr. Seuss
- Hunters in a Narrow Street – Jabra Ibrahim Jabra
- The Insolences of Brother Anonymous – Jean-Paul Desbiens
- The Many Colored Coat – Morley Callaghan
- Take a Girl Like You – Kingsley Amis
- To Kill A Mockingbird – Harper Lee
- The Torch – Wilder Penfield
- The Violent Bear It Away – Flannery O'Connor
- The White Stone – Carlo Coccioli
- What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? – Henry Farrell