Events 1 - 200 of 667
Sports History
Jan 1 1st AFL Championship, Jeppesen Stadium, Houston; Houston Oilers beat Los Angeles Chargers, 24-16; QB George Blanda 3 TD passes, 3 conversions and a field goal
- Jan 1 Briggs Stadium, home of baseball's Detroit Tigers is officially renamed Tigers Stadium
- Jan 1 Largest check issued, National Bank of Chicago to Sears ($960.242 billion)
- Jan 1 Russia introduces a new ruble worth $1.11
- Jan 2 27th Orange Bowl: #5 Missouri beats #4 Navy, 21-14
- Jan 2 27th Sugar Bowl: #2 Mississippi beats Rice, 14-6
- Jan 2 47th Rose Bowl: #6 Washington beats #1 Minnesota, 17-7
- Jan 2 Hawaii's, then all time low temperature, 14°F recorded atop Haleakale
Election of Interest
Jan 3 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. elected Chairman of US House Education and Labor Committee
- Jan 3 An explosion at the Nuclear Reactor Testing Station in Idaho Falls kills three operators
- Jan 3 US breaks diplomatic relations with Cuba
- Jan 4 Longest recorded strike ends as the Danish barbers' assistants end a 33 year strike
Music History
Jan 5 The Beatles perform with Paul McCartney on bass guitar for the 1st time, at Litherland Town Hall, in Lancashire, England
- Jan 7 1st NFL Playoff Bowl (runner-up bowl)-Detroit beats Cleveland 17-16
- Jan 7 Trucial States (now UAE) issue their 1st postage stamps
- Jan 8 Bollingen Prize for poetry awarded to Yvor Winters
- Jan 8 The French vote for Algerian independence from French rule in the wake of seven years of guerrilla war
- Jan 9 Twins agree on $500,000 payment to AA for Minn/St Paul territory
- Jan 11 Racial riot at University of Georgia
- Jan 12 "Show Girl" opens at Eugene O'Neill Theater NYC for 100 performances
- Jan 12 UN genocide pact goes into effect
- Jan 14 Chicago Bear Willard Dewveall becomes 1st NFLer to join AFL
NFL Pro Bowl
Jan 15 11th NFL Pro Bowl, LA Memorial Coliseum: Western Conference beats Eastern Conference, 35-31; MVPs: Johnny Unitas, Baltimore Colts, QB; Sam Huff, NY Giants, LB
Music History
Jan 15 Berry Gordy signs The Supremes to Motown Records
- Jan 16 "Conquering Hero" opens at ANTA Theater NYC for 8 performances
- Jan 16 Russian espionage ring detected in Great Britain
NBA All-Star Game
Jan 17 11th NBA All-Star Game, Onondaga County Coliseum, Syracuse, NY: West beats East, 153-131; MVP: Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati Royals, PG; at 22, youngest player to receive All-Star MVP honours, 23 points & 14 assists
Event of Interest
Jan 17 President Dwight D. Eisenhower delivers a televised farewell address to the nation three days before leaving office, in which he warns against the accumulation of power by the "military-industrial complex".
- Jan 18 Zanzibar's Afro-Shirazi party wins 1 seat by a single vote & parliament by a single seat
The Dick Van Dyke Show
Jan 19 1st episode of "The Dick Van Dyke Show" is filmed
JFK Inaugurated
Jan 20 Democrat John F. Kennedy, the youngest elected President of the United States, is administered his oath of office at his inauguration by Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren. Robert Frost recites "Gift Outright".
Event of Interest
Jan 20 Yugoslav ex-vice-president Milovan Djilas flees
- Jan 21 "Conquering Hero" closes at ANTA Theater NYC after 8 performances
- Jan 21 Francis Poulenc's "Gloria" premieres in Boston< Massachusetts by Boston Symphony and Chorus Pro Musica under conductor Charles Münch
- Jan 21 KIFI TV channel 8 in Idaho Falls, Idaho (NBC) begins broadcasting
- Jan 21 Portuguese rebels seize cruise ship Santa Maria
- Jan 23 Supreme Court rules cities & states have right to censor films
- Jan 23 Venezuela adopts constitution
Event of Interest
Jan 24 Edward Albee's "American Dream" premieres in NYC
Sports History
Jan 25 Toronto left wing Frank Mahovlich scores twice, giving him 39 for the season, and making him highest single season goal scorer in Maple Leafs' history, as Toronto beats Montreal Canadiens, 5-3
101 Dalmatians
Jan 25 Walt Disney's animated film "101 Dalmatians", based on the novel by Dodie Smith and directed by Clyde Geronimi and Hamilton Luske is released in the US
#1 in the Charts
Jan 26 "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" by Elvis Presley hits #1
- Jan 26 1st woman personal physician to a US President - Janet G. Travell (to John F. Kennedy)
- Jan 27 "Sing Along with Mitch" [Miller] premieres on NBC TV
Australian Men's Tennis Open
Jan 27 Australian Championships Men's Tennis: Roy Emerson beats fellow Australian Rod Laver 1-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 for his first Grand Slam title
- Jan 27 Australian Championships Women's Tennis: Margaret Court retains title; repeat of previous year's final beating Jan Lehane O'Neill 6-1, 6-4
Music History
Jan 27 Leontyne Price and Franco Corelli make debuts at the Metropolitan Opera in New York in "Il trovatore"; final curtain call lasts 35 minutes
I Fall to Pieces
Jan 30 "I Fall to Pieces" single released by Patsy Cline (Billboard Song of the Year 1961)
- Jan 30 Bobby Darin is youngest performer to headline a TV special on NBC
- Jan 30 JFK asks for an Alliance for Progress & Peace Corps
- Jan 30 KAET TV channel 8 in Phoenix, AZ (PBS) begins broadcasting
- Jan 30 Outstanding West Indian spin bowler Lance Gibbs takes hat-trick (Ken Mackay, Wally Grout, Frank Misson) in drawn 4th Test v Australia in Adelaide
Event of Interest
Jan 31 David Ben-Gurion resigns as Prime Minister of Israel
- Jan 31 Ham the chimpanzee is 1st primate in space (158 miles) aboard Mercury/Redstone 2
- Jan 31 Houston voters approve bond to finance luxury domed stadium
- Jan 31 Kanhai completes twin tons (117 & 115) v Aust at Adelaide
- Jan 31 NATO secretary-general Paul-Henri Spaak says he'll resign
- Jan 31 USAF launches Samos spy satellite to replace U-2 flights
- Jan 31 West Indian cricket batsman Rohan Kanhai scores back-to-back centuries in the drawn 4th Test against Australia in Adelaide; follows 1st innings 117 with 115 in 2nd knock
- Feb 1 1st full-scale test of US Minuteman ICBM is successful
- Feb 1 Australian cricket tail-enders Ken Mackay (62no) and Lindsay Kline (15no) hang on for 100 minutes to earn a famous draw on the final day vs West Indies in 4th Test in Adelaide
Event of Interest
Feb 1 British minister Enoch Powell makes medical insurance more expensive
The Misfits
Feb 1 John Huston's film drama "The Misfits" officially premieres at the Loews Capitol in NYC, after a sneak preview at Reno, Nevada's Grenada Theatre; the final movie for both Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe was written by Monroe's husband Arthur Miller, and also featured Montgomery Cliff
Event of Interest
Feb 4 "Angolan War of Independence" begins
- Feb 4 Sputnik 7 launches into Earth orbit; probable Venus probe failure
- Feb 6 "Jail, No Bail" Jail-in movement starts in Rock Hill, South Carolina
- Feb 6 KOAP TV channel 10 in Portland, OR (PBS) begins broadcasting
Film & TV History
Feb 7 Jane Fonda made her acting debut in the NBC drama "A String of Beads"
Music Premiere
Feb 10 Walter Piston's 7th Symphony, commissioned by the Philadelphia Orchestra premieres under direction of Eugene Ormandy; wins 1961 Pulitzer Prize
- Feb 11 Robert Weaver sworn in as Administrator of the Housing and Home Finance Agency, the 1st African American to be appointed to a US cabinet-level position
Sports History
Feb 12 Boston Celtic Bill Russell grabs 40 rebounds to beat Philadelphia Warriors, 136-125
- Feb 12 Pakistani cricketer Mushtaq Mohammad scores his 1st test cricket century for Pakistan at 17 years of age
- Feb 12 USSR launches Venera 1 toward Venus
Music Recording
Feb 13 Frank Sinatra launches Reprise label under Warner Bros Records
- Feb 13 Soviet Union fires a rocket from Sputnik V to Venus
- Feb 14 Element 103, Lawrencium, 1st produced in Berkeley Calif
- Feb 15 Australia beat West Indies 2-1 in one of best Test Cricket series ever
- Feb 15 Plane crash kills entire US figure skating team outside Brussels airport in Belgium enroute to World Championships in Prague from NYC; 73 crew and passengers (including 34 American skaters, coaches, officials, and other team members), and a farmer on the ground are lost
- Feb 16 1st all-solid-propellant rocket put in orbit, Wallops Island, Virginia
- Feb 16 China uses its 1st nuclear reactor
- Feb 16 NASA Explorer 9 mission launches satellite for the 1st time from Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, Virginia; this was also the 1st all-solid-propellant rocket put into orbit
- Feb 18 Henk van der Grift becomes world champion skater
- Feb 19 Albania disavows Chinese "Revisionism"
- Feb 19 Henk van der Grift (Neth) becomes world champ all-round skater
- Feb 21 Friedrich Durrenmatt's "Die Physiker" premieres in Zurich
- Feb 21 Gabon adopts constitution
- Feb 21 Mercury-Atlas 2 reentry Test reaches 172 km
- Feb 24 NASA Explorer S-45 mission; ionosphere beacon satellite fails to reach Earth orbit
- Feb 25 Niagara ends St Bonaventura's 99-game home basketball win streak
- Feb 25 Paul Bikle in glider climbs from 1208 m at release to record 14,10
- Feb 26 3rd Daytona 500: Marvin Panch wins in a 1960 Pontiac owned by Smokey Yunick when race leader Fireball Roberts' car suffered a blown engine with 13 laps remaining
- Feb 27 The first congress of the Spanish Trade Union Organisation is inaugurated
Appointment of Interest
Feb 28 JFK names Henry Kissinger special advisor
- Mar 4 8th ACC Men's Basketball Tournament: Wake Forest beats Duke, 96-81
- Mar 4 Paul-Henri Spaak resigns as Secretary-General of NATO
- Mar 6 1st London minicabs introduced
- Mar 6 Dutch guilder revalued 4.74%
- Mar 6 Dutch Queen Juliana celebrates 12½ year jubilee
- Mar 8 Jean Kerr's "Mary, Mary" premieres in NYC
Event of Interest
Mar 8 US nuclear submarine Patrick Henry arrives at Scottish naval base of Holy Loch from South Carolina in a record underseas journey of 66 days 22 hrs
- Mar 9 Mine cave-in in Japan, kills 72
Sports History
Mar 9 Philadelphia Warriors center Wilt Chamberlain scores 67 points in 135-126 win over NY Knicks at Philadelphia Civic Center
Space Dog Laika Launched to her Death
Mar 9 Soviet flight Sputnik 9 carries and returns from orbit a dog named Chernushka (Blackie), frogs and a guinea pig
I Want a Guy
Mar 9 The Supremes release singles "I Want a Guy" and "Never Again"
Boxing Title Fight
Mar 13 Floyd Patterson KOs Ingemar Johansson in 6 for heavyweight boxing title
- Mar 13 JFK sets up the Alliance for Progress
- Mar 13 Landslide in USSR, kills 145
- Mar 13 Old type, black & white notes cease to be legal tender
- Mar 14 Former New York Yankees general manager George Weiss becomes first President of New York Mets after MLB expansion franchise formed
- Mar 15 South Africa withdraws from British Commonwealth
Golden Globes
Mar 16 18th Golden Globes: "Spartacus", Burt Lancaster, & Greer Garson win
Event of Interest
Mar 17 Jaguar head William Lyons debuts the first E-Type model at the Geneva International Motor Show, creating a sensation
- Mar 17 NY DA arrests professional gamblers who implicate Seton Hall players
- Mar 17 South Africa leaves British Commonwealth
- Mar 18 6th Eurovision Song Contest: Jean-Claude Pascal for Luxembourg wins "Nous les amoureux" in Cannes
Sports History
Mar 21 Art Modell purchases Cleveland Browns for then record sum ($3,925,000)
- Mar 21 The Beatles' first appearance at the Cavern Club in Liverpool
- Mar 24 NY Senate approves $55M for a baseball stadium at Flushing Meadows
- Mar 25 "13 Daughters" closes at 54th St Theater, NYC, after 28 performances
- Mar 25 "Gypsy" closes at Broadway Theater NYC after 702 performances
- Mar 25 115th Grand National: Bobby Beasley wins aboard Nicolaus Silver, 5 lengths ahead of defending champion Merryman II; first grey winner for 90 years
Sports History
Mar 25 23rd NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Cincinnati beats Ohio State, 70-65 (OT); Buckeyes' future Hall of Fame forward Jerry Lucas is MOP for 2nd straight year
- Mar 25 3rd place game is one of the wildest contests in NCAA Tournament history as St Joseph's defeats Utah, 127-120 in quadruple overtime
- Mar 25 Elvis Presley performs live on the USS Arizona
- Mar 25 Explorer 10 launched into elongated Earth orbit (177/181,000 km)
- Mar 25 Sputnik 10 carries a dog into Earth orbit; later recovered
- Mar 27 Black demonstrators in Charleston staged ride-ins on street cars
- Mar 27 Failed assassination attempt on King Saif al-Islam Achmad of Yemen
- Mar 29 23rd Amendment to the US Constitution ratified, allowing Washington, D.C. residents to vote in presidential elections
Event of Interest
Mar 29 After a 4½ year trial Nelson Mandela is acquitted of treason in Pretoria
Appointment of Interest
Mar 29 Economist John Kenneth Galbraith is appointed US Ambassador to India
- Mar 29 KCPT TV channel 19 in Kansas City, MO (PBS) begins broadcasting
Event of Interest
Mar 30 NASA civilian pilot Joseph A. Walker takes X-15 169,600' (51,690 m)
- Mar 30 The Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs is signed at New York
- Mar 31 8th National Film Awards (India): "Anuradha" wins the Golden Lotus
- Mar 31 Aklilou Habtewold becomes 1st premier of Ethiopia
- Apr 3 Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia is sold to J Schleifer Properties
- Apr 3 Jacques Offenbach and Yip Harburg's musical "The Happiest Girl in the World", starring Cyril Ritchard and Justine Rule, opens at Martin Beck Theatre, NYC; runs for 97 performances
TV Show Appearance
Apr 5 Barbra Streisand appears on "Jack Paar Show"
- Apr 5 Dutch governor Platteel installs New Guinea Council
- Apr 8 "Show Girl" closes at Eugene O'Neill Theater NYC after 100 performances
- Apr 8 British liner "Dara" explodes in Persian Gulf, kills 236
US Masters Golf
Apr 10 25th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: South African Gary Player beats defending champion Arnold Palmer and amateur Charles Coe by 1 stroke to become first international champion; Monday finish because of rain
- Apr 10 Dutch foreign minister Luns talks to JFK about New Guinea
- Apr 10 Washington Senators play first game in franchise history with President John F. Kennedy in attendance; lose a 4-3 decision to the Chicago White Sox
- Apr 11 15th NBA Championship: Bos Celtics beat St Louis Hawks, 4 games to 1
- Apr 11 Austrian 4th & last government of Raab resigns
'The Banality of Evil'
Apr 11 Trial of Adolf Eichmann for war crimes in World War II begins in Jerusalem, Israel
Grammy Awards
Apr 12 3rd Grammy Awards: Theme From a Summer Place, Ray Charles wins 4
Sports History
Apr 12 Douglas MacArthur declines offer to become baseball commissioner
Launch of Vostok 1
Apr 12 Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human to travel into space and orbit Earth, aboard the Vostok 1 spacecraft
- Apr 13 "Carnival!" opens at Imperial Theater NYC for 719 performances
- Apr 13 UN General Assembly condemns South-Africa's apartheid
- Apr 14 1st live television broadcast from Soviet Union
- Apr 14 Cuban-American invasion army departs Nicaragua
- Apr 14 US element 103 (Lawrencium) discovered
- Apr 15 France wins it’s 2nd outright Five Nations Rugby Championship with an 15-3 victory over Ireland at Lansdowne Road, Dublin
- Apr 15 Meredith Willson's musical "The Music Man", starring Robert Preston and Barbara Cook, closes at Majestic Theater, NYC. after 1375 performances, 5 Tony Awards, and a Grammy
- Apr 16 15th Tony Awards: "Becket" (play) & "Bye Bye Birdie" (musical) win
- Apr 16 Stanley Cup Final, Olympia Stadium, Detroit, MI: Chicago Blackhawks beat Detroit Red Wings, 4-1 for a 4-2 series victory
Event of Interest
Apr 17 1,400 Cuban exiles land in Bay of Pigs in a doomed attempt to overthrow Fidel Castro
Academy Awards
Apr 17 33rd Academy Awards: "Apartment" wins best film, Burt Lancaster & Elizabeth Taylor win best actor, actress
- Apr 17 65th Boston Marathon won by Eino Oksanen of Finland in 2:23:39; his 2nd event title
Film & TV History
Apr 17 Jimmy Stewart accepts an honorary Oscar on behalf of his friend Gary Cooper, who is too ill to attend
- Apr 18 CONCP is founded in Casablanca as a united front of African movements opposing Portuguese colonial rule
- Apr 20 American Harold Graham makes 1st rocket belt flight
- Apr 21 Dirk Stikker chosen as secretary general of NATO
- Apr 21 French army revolts in Algeria
- Apr 21 USAF Maj Robert M White takes X-15 to 32,000 m
- Apr 22 Uprising of French parachutist of General Salan and Challe in Algeria
- Apr 23 Algiers putsch by French generals
- Apr 23 Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick's musical comedy "Tenderloin" closes at 46th St Theater, NYC, after 216 performances
Music History
Apr 23 Singer Judy Garland appears in concert at Carnegie Hall, NYC; event is recorded for a double live album, wins Grammy Award for Album of the Year (the first such win by a female artist)
Sinking of the Vasa
Apr 24 17th century Swedish warship Vasa, which sunk on her maiden voyage in 1628, is salvaged
Belgium History
Apr 25 Belgium government of Gaston Eyskens falls over the Unitary Law
- Apr 25 France performs nuclear test at Reggane Proving Grounds Algeria
- Apr 25 Mercury/Atlas rocket lifted off with an electronic mannequin
- Apr 25 Premier Moise Tsjombe of Katanga arrested in Congo
- Apr 25 Robert Noyce patents integrated circuit