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Months in 1961: January February March April June July August September October November December

Historical Events

Results 1 - 63 of 63

1st - 1st US airplane hijacked to Cuba
1st - Fidel Castro announces there will be no more elections in Cuba
1st - Pulitzer prize awarded to Harper Lee (To Kill a Mockingbird)
1st - Tanganyika granted full internal self-government by Britain
3rd - Warren Spahn pitches a 2 hitter after pitching a no hitter
4th - 13 Freedom riders began bus trip through South
4th - 1st on-the-road Spacemobile lecture given.
4th - CORE begins freedom rides from Washington, DC
4th - Malcolm Ross & Victor Prather reach 34,668 m (record) in balloon
4th - South-Africa ANC-leader John Nkadimeng arrested
5th - Alan Shepard becomes 1st American in space (aboard Freedom 7)
6th - 87th Kentucky Derby: John Sellers aboard Carry Back wins in 2:04
6th - Omer Vanaudenhove chosen chairman of Belgium Liberal Party
7th - "Young Abe Lincoln" closes at Eugene O'Neill NYC after 27 perfs
7th - Ruth Jessen wins LPGA Peach Blossom Golf Open
8th - 1st practical sea water conversion plant-Freeport Texas
8th - Alan Shepard receives NASA Distinguished Service Medal, Washington
9th - Balt Oriole Jim Gentile hits 2 grand slams (9 RBIs) vs Minn Twins
9th - FCC Chairman Newton N Minow criticizes TV as a "vast wasteland"
9th - Jim Gentile is 4th to hit grand slams in consecutive innings
10th - "Beyond the Fringe," premieres in London
12th - Botvinnik wins world chess championship for 3rd time
14th - Bus with 1st group of Freedom Riders bombed & burned in Alabama
14th - Mickey Wright wins LPGA Columbus Golf Open
14th - Stirling Moss wins the 1961 Monaco Grand Prix
15th - "Bonanza" by Al Caiola Orchestra hits #19
15th - 36 Unification church couples wed in Korea
15th - Pope John XXIII publishes encyclical Mater et Magistra
16th - 13rd Emmy Awards: Jack Benny Show, Raymond Burr & Barbara Stanwyck
17th - Castro offers to exchange Bay of Pigs prisoners for 500 bulldozers
18th - "Donnybrook!" opens at 46th St Theater NYC for 68 performances
19th - New pier opens in Scheveningen
20th - 87th Preakness: Johnny Sellers aboard Carry Back wins in 1:57.6
20th - Henzes opera "Elegy for Young Lovers," premieres in Schwetzingen
20th - Mauritania adopts constitution
20th - White mob attacks "Freedom Riders" in Montgomery, Alabama
21st - Governor Patterson declares martial law in Montgomery
22nd - "Mother-In-Law" by Ernie K-Doe hits #1
22nd - "Touchables In Brooklyn" by Dickie Goodman hits #42
22nd - 1st revolving restaurant (Top Of The Needle in Seattle), opens
24th - 27 Freedom Riders arrested in Jackson, Mississippi
24th - Explorer (12) fails to reach Earth orbit
24th - Cyprus enters the Council of Europe.
25th - JFK sets goal of putting a man on Moon before the end of decade
25th - NASA civilian pilot Joseph A Walker takes X-15 to 32,770 m
25th - King Hussein of Jordan marries Princess Muna al-Hussein (Antoinette Gardiner).
26th - Freedom Ride Coordinating Committee establishes in Atlanta
26th - USAF bomber flies Atlantic in a record of just over 3 hours
27th - 1st black light is sold
27th - Fiorentina wins 1st Europe Cup II in Florence
27th - Pres Kennedy announces US goal to reach Moon
27th - Ralph Boston of US, sets then long jump record at 27' ½"
28th - Amnesty Intl founded (Nobel Peace Prize 1977)
28th - Last trip (Paris to Bucharest) on Orient Express (after 78 years)
28th - Record 27 HRs hit in 7 AL games
30th - Dutch DC-8 crashes after takeoff at Lisbon, 62 die
30th - Maris hits his 10th & 11th of 61 HRs
30th - Long time Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo is assassinated in Santo Domingo,Dominican Republic.
31st - Benfica wins 6th Europe Cup 1 at Bern
31st - Chuck Berry's amusement park, Berryland in St Louis, opens
31st - JFK visits Charles de Gaulle in Paris
31st - Judge Irving Kaufman orders Board of Ed of New Rochelle, to integrate
31st - Union of South Africa becomes a republic, leaves Commonwealth

Famous Birthdays

Results 1 - 75 of 75

1st - Charlie O'Brien, Tulsa OK, catcher (Brewers, Mets, Braves, Blue Jays)
1st - Steven Cauthen, jockey (1978 Kentucky Derby-Affirmed)
1st - Marilyn Milian, current judge on The People's Court
2nd - Doctor Robert, [Bruce R Howard], rocker (Blow Monkeys-Wicked Ways)
2nd - Peter Doohan, Australia, tennis star
2nd - Phil Vickery, English celebrity chef
3rd - Steve McClaren, English football manager
3rd - Joe Murray, American cartoonist
3rd - David Vitter American politician
4th - Eugene Daniel, NFL center (Indianapolis Colts, Baltimore Ravens)
4th - Jay Aston, rocker
4th - Mary Elizabeth McDonough, Van Nuys Cal, actress (Erin-Waltons)
4th - Luis Herrera, Colombian cyclist
4th - Ishita Bhaduri, Indian (Bengali) Poet
5th - Hiro Hase, wrestler (NJPW)
6th - Clay O'Brien, Ray Az, actor (Weedy-Cowboys)
6th - George Clooney, Lexington KY, actor (Dr Douglas Ross-ER, Batman)
6th - Roma Downey, Derry Ire, actress (1 Life to Live, Touched by an Angel)
7th - Linda Somers, Bitburg Germany, US marathoner (Olympics-31st-96)
7th - Phil Campbell, British musician (Motörhead)
8th - Riaz Poonawalla, cricketer (Indian 12th man/UAE bat 1994 ICC Trophy)
8th - David Winning, Canadian film director
8th - Akira Taue, Japanese professional wrestler
9th - Rene Capo, Pinal del Rio Cuba, half-heavyweight judoka (Olympics-96)
10th - Blyth Tait, England, NZ equestrian 3 day event (Olympics-gold-96)
10th - Randy Cunneyworth, Etobicoke, NHL left wing (Ottawa Senators)
10th - Teri Copley, Arcadia Calif, actress (Mickey-We've Got it Made)
10th - Johanna ter Steege, Dutch actress
11th - Cecile Licad, Manila Philippines, pianist (Leventritt Award-1981)
11th - Diana Lee[-Hsu], Seattle Wa, playmate (May, 1988)
12th - Billy Duffy, rocker (Cult-Hell's Kitchen)
12th - Lar Park Lincoln, American actress
12th - Bruce McCulloch, Canadian actor
12th - Thomas Dooley, German-American Soccer Player
13th - Dennis Rodman, NBA forward (Chicago Bulls)
14th - Tim Roth, London England, actor (Reservoir Dogs, Vincent & Theo)
14th - Ulrike Folkerts, German actress
14th - Alain Vigneault, Canadian ice hockey coach
15th - Anne Kelly, LPGA golfer
15th - Katrin Cartlidge, British actress (d. 2002)
15th - Melle Mel, American musician
16th - Nina Arvesen, White Plains NY, actress (Cassandra-Young & Restless)
16th - Kevin Guidry, NFL tackle (Denver Broncos)
16th - Kevin McDonald, Canadian comedian and actor
16th - Charles Wright, American professional wrestler known as "The Godfather"
17th - Enya, Irish singer and songwriter
19th - Lisa Rathgber, Hillsboro Ill, bowler (LPBT Rookie of Year 1980)
19th - Lisa Wagner, bowler (3-time LPBT Player of Year, Bowler of Decade)
19th - Gregory Poirier, American screenwriter and director
20th - Clive Allen, WLAF kicker (London Monarchs)
20th - Kit Clarke, rocker (Danny Wilson-Mary's Prayer)
20th - Nick Heyward, guitar/vocals (Haircut 100-Favourite Shirts)
20th - Sally Quinlan, LPGA golfer
20th - Vaughn Jefferis, Matangi NZ, equestrian 3 day event (Olymp-bronze-96)
21st - Tim Lever, keyboard/sax (Dead or Alive-You Spin Me Round)
22nd - Dana Williams, Dayton Ohio, singer (Diamond Rio-Meet in the Middle)
23rd - Dave Babych, Edmonton, NHL defenseman (Vancouver Canucks)
23rd - Drew Carey, Cleve Oh, actor/comedian (Drew-Drew Carey Show)
23rd - Kevin Romine, baseball player
25th - Hiro Saito, wrestler (All-Japan/NJPW/Calgary)
26th - Stephen Robert Pate, Ventura CA, PGA golfer (1987 Southwest Classic)
26th - Tarsem Singh, Indian film director
27th - Cathy Silvers, NYC, actress (Jenny-Happy Days, Foley Square)
27th - Jill Sterkel, US swimmer (Olympics-bronze-1976, 84, 88)
27th - John Lugbill, Wauseon Ohio, US canoist/kayaker (Olympic-92)
27th - Peri Gilpin, Waco Tx, actor (Roz Doyle-Frasier)
28th - Roland Gift, UK, rocker (Fine Young Cannibals-She Drives Me Crazy)
29th - David Palmer, heavy metal drummer (ABC, AC/DC)
29th - Melissa Etheridge, US singer/songwriter/guitarist (Never Enough)
29th - Todd Boonstra, Minneapolis Minn, cross country skier (Olympics-1994)
30th - Ella Arolovich, Leningrad USSR, model
30th - Ralph Carter, NYC, actor (Michael Evans-Good Times)
30th - Trey Parker, rapper/actor (Newsies, Hull High)
31st - Harry Enfield, comedian (Dermot-Men Behaving Badly, Saturday Live)
31st - Lea Thompson, actress (Back to the Future, Caroline In The City)

Famous Deaths

Results 1 - 17 of 17

2nd - J C White, cricketer (49 wickets in 15 Tests for Engld 1921-31), dies
3rd - Maurice [Jean Jacques] Merleau-Ponty, French philosopher, dies at 53
4th - Anita Stewart, dies of heart attack at 66
6th - Lucian Blaga, philosopher/poet (Transcendental censor), dies at 65
8th - James Fairfax, actor (Gale Storm Show), dies at 63
13th - Gary Cooper, 2 time Acad award winning actor (High Noon), dies at 60
16th - George A. Malcolm, American jurist & educator (b. 1881)
17th - Frans van Cauwelaert, Flemish minister/mayor of Antwerp, dies at 81
17th - Henri Gagnon, composer, dies at 74
18th - Henry O'Neill, actor (Lady Killer, Nothing But Trouble), dies
19th - Joe Howard, singer (Gay Nineties Revue), dies at 94
20th - Josef "Pips" Priller, German fighter ace (b. 1915)
22nd - Joan Davis, actress (I Married Joan), dies of heart attack at 53
23rd - Joan Davis, comedic actress (I Married Joan), dies at 53
29th - Uuno Kalervo Klami, composer, dies at 60
30th - Rafael L Trujillo Molina, dictator Dom Rep (1930-61), murdered at 69
31st - Walter Little, Canadian politician (b. 1877)