What Happened on August 20, 1961

Historical Events

  • 22nd Venice Film Festival: "Last Year at Marienbad" directed by Alain Resnais wins Golden Lion
  • East Germany begins erecting 5' high wall along the border with the west to replace the barbed wire put up Aug 13
  • Philadelphia Phillies beat Milwaukee Braves, 7-4 at County Stadium; end losing streak with dubious MLB record of 23 straight loses
1961 History

Famous Birthdays

  • Greg Egan, Australian science fiction and hard science author, born in Perth, Australia
  • Joe Pasquale, English comedian (King of the Jungle - I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! 2004 4th series), born in Grays, Essex, England
  • Linda Mantz, American actress (Frankie-Dorothy), born in NYC, New York
Born in 1961

Famous Deaths

  • Percy Williams Bridgman, American physicist (Nobel 1946 - physics of high pressure), dies at 79
  • Vilhjalmur Stefansson, Canadian-American Arctic explorer and ethnologist, dies at 82

About August 20, 1961

Day of the Week: Sunday
How Long Ago? 61 years, 7 months and 2 days
Leap Year: No

Generation: Baby Boomer
Chinese Zodiac: Ox
Star Sign: Leo

Music Charts

  • US #1 Song: Wooden Heart - Joe Dowell
  • UK #1 Song: You Don't Know - Helen Shapiro