1961

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, the 1961st year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 961st year of the 2nd millennium, the 61st year of the 20th century, and the 2nd year of the 1960s decade. Its rendering using the Hindu-Arabic numeral system creates a numeral which looks the same when put upside down. The next such year will be 6009.

Events[change | change source]

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

Births[change | change source]

January 26 – Wayne Gretzky, Retired Canadian NHL player
January 28 – Arnaldur Indridason, Icelandic writer
February 13 – Henry Rollins, American musician and activist (Black Flag)
March 3 – John Matteson, Pulitzer Prize-winning American biographer
April 1 – Susan Boyle, Scottish singer
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
July 31 - Peter O'Brien, American drummer (Orleans)
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 28 - George Rossi, Scottish actor (d. 2022)
September 29 – Julia Gillard, Prime Minister of Australia
October 11 – Amr Diab, Egyptian singer
October 25 - Chad Smith, American drummer (Red Hot Chili Peppers)
October 26 – Uhuru Kenyatta, President of Kenya
November 12 – Nadia Comaneci, Romanian gymnast
November 19 – Meg Ryan, American actress
November 24 – Arundhati Roy, Indian activist and writer
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

Deaths[change | change source]

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)
February 3 – Viscount Dunrossil, Australian Governor-General (b. 1893)
February 9 – Carlos Luz, 19th President of Brazil (b. 1894)
March 3 – Paul Wittgenstein, Austrian-born pianist (b. 1887)
March 23 – Valentin Bondarenko, Russian cosmonaut (b. 1937)
April 9 – Ahmet Zog, King of Albania (b. 1895)
May 30 – Rafael Leónidas Trujillo, President of the Dominican Republic (b. 1891)
June 6 – Carl Jung, Swiss psychiatrist (b. 1875)
July 2 – Ernest Hemingway, American writer (b. 1899)
August 20 – Percy Williams Bridgman, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1882)
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)
November 9 – Ferdinand Bie, Norwegian athlete (b. 1888)
December 20 – Earle Page, 11th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1880)

Nobel Prizes[change | change source]

Nobel Prize in Physics won by Robert Hofstadter, American physicist, and Rudolf Mössbauer, German physicist
Nobel Prize in Chemistry won by Melvin Calvin, American biochemist
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine won by Georg von Békésy, Hungarian biophysicist
Nobel Prize in Literature won by Ivo Andrić, Yugoslav novelist, poet and short story writer
Nobel Peace Prize won by Dag Hammarskjöld (posthumously), Swedish diplomat

Movies released[change | change source]

101 Dalmatians, an animated movie
The Absent-Minded Professor by Walt Disney Productions
Breakfast at Tiffany's starring Audrey Hepburn
El Cid starring Charlton Heston and Sophia Loren
La Dolce Vita starring Marcello Mastroianni and Anita Ekberg
The Guns of Navarone with Gregory Peck and Anthony Quinn
The Hustler starring Paul Newman and Jackie Gleason
Lover Come Back starring Doris Day and Rock Hudson
The Parent Trap starring Hayley Mills
West Side Story winning 10 Academy Awards

Hit songs[change | change source]

"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