Historical Events in 1961
- Jan 4 Longest recorded strike ends as the Danish barbers' assistants end a 33 year strike
- Mar 9 Soviet flight Sputnik 9 carries and returns from orbit a dog named Chernushka (Blackie), frogs and a guinea pig
- Mar 29 After a 4½ year trial Nelson Mandela is acquitted of treason in Pretoria
- Apr 12 Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human to travel into space and orbit Earth, aboard the Vostok 1 spacecraft
- Apr 17 1,400 Cuban exiles land in Bay of Pigs in a doomed attempt to overthrow Fidel Castro
- May 25 JFK announces US goal of putting a man on the Moon before the end of decade
- Jul 31 Israel welcomes its one millionth immigrant
- More Events in 1961
1961 in Film & TV
- Jan 15 Berry Gordy signs The Supremes to Motown Records
- Jan 25 1st live, nationally televised presidential news conference with JFK
1961 in Music
- Jan 30 "I Fall to Pieces" single released by Patsy Cline (Billboard Song of the Year 1961)
- Mar 21 The Beatles' first appearance at the Cavern Club in Liverpool
- Aug 2 The Beatles 1st gig as house band of Liverpool's Cavern Club
- Oct 28 "Fiorello!" closes at Broadhurst Theater NYC starring Tom Bosley after 796 performances and a Pulitzer Prize
- Dec 13 The Beatles sign a formal agreement to be managed by Brian Epstein
1961 in Sport
- May 27 Fiorentina of Italy win 1st European Cup Winner's Cup against Glasgow Rangers 4-2 in Florence (2nd leg)
- Nov 6 US government issues a stamp honoring 100th birthday of James Naismith (invented game of basketball - actually Canadian)
- Nov 27 Gordie Howe becomes 1st to play in 1,000 NHL games
- Dec 3 Dutchman Anton Geesink becomes 1st non-Japanese judo world champion
- Dec 18 For 2nd consecutive year, AP names Wilma Rudolph female athlete of year
Did You Know?
Soviet Union tests a 58 megaton hydrogen bomb named Tsar Bomba, the most powerful nuclear weapon ever detonated
On October 30, 1961
Mark Messier
Wayne Gretzky
George Clooney
Diana Spencer
Barack Obama
Frank Bruno
Erwin Schrödinger
Alfred Carlton Gilbert
Gary Cooper
Ernest Hemingway
Ty Cobb
Grandma MosesWould You Believe?
American opera singer Grace Bumbry becomes the first black singer to perform at the Bayreuth Festival, Germany, she earns 42 curtain calls
On July 23, 1961
1961 in Pictures
Soccer Star Dodges TV Trap
How did a 'This Is Your Life' surprise for footballer Danny Blanchflower backfire so badly and end with the Tottenham Hotspur star storming off the set?February 6
Launch of Vostok 1
The Vostok 1 spacecraft attached to its launcherApril 12
Final Hours of Ernest Hemingway
Why did Ernest Hemingway, with everything to live for, kill himself on this day? The one thing he did not write is a suicide note but scientists have some answers.July 2
Famous Weddings in 1961
- Jan 28 NFL coach Mike Ditka (21) weds Marge Dougherty
- Mar 13 Spanish painter Pablo Picasso (79) weds his French model Jacqueline Rocque (37), until his death
- Mar 17 Actor Christopher Lee (38) weds actress Gitte Lee (25)
Famous Divorces in 1961
- Sep 1 American "Gilda" actress Rita Hayworth (42) divorces American film producer James Hill (45) after 3-1/2 years of marriage
More Weddings & Divorces in 1961
Jerry Lucas
Maximilian Schell
Sophia Loren
John F. Kennedy
Mao Zedong
Nikita Khrushchev