1961 - Wikipedia Jump to content Main menu Main menu move to sidebar hide Navigation Main page Contents Current events Random article About Wikipedia Contact us Contribute Help Learn to edit Community portal Recent changes Upload file Special pages Search Search Appearance Donate Create account Log in Personal tools Donate Create account Log in Contents move to sidebar hide (Top) 1 Events Toggle Events subsection 1.1 January 1.2 February 1.3 March 1.4 April 1.5 May 1.6 June 1.7 July 1.8 August 1.9 September 1.10 October 1.11 November 1.12 December 2 Births Toggle Births subsection 2.1 January 2.2 February 2.3 March 2.4 April 2.5 May 2.6 June 2.7 July 2.8 August 2.9 September 2.10 October 2.11 November 2.12 December 3 Deaths Toggle Deaths subsection 3.1 January 3.2 February 3.3 March 3.4 April 3.5 May 3.6 June 3.7 July 3.8 August 3.9 September 3.10 October 3.11 November 3.12 December 4 Nobel Prizes 5 See also 6 References Toggle the table of contents 1961 202 languages Аԥсшәа Afrikaans Alemannisch አማርኛ Aragonés العربية الدارجة مصرى Asturianu Авар Kotava Azərbaycanca تۆرکجه Башҡортса Basa Bali Boarisch Žemaitėška Bikol Central Беларуская (тарашкевіца) Беларуская Български भोजपुरी Banjar বাংলা বিষ্ণুপ্রিয়া মণিপুরী Brezhoneg Bosanski Català 閩東語 / Mìng-dĕ̤ng-ngṳ̄ Нохчийн Cebuano کوردی Corsu Qırımtatarca Čeština Kaszëbsczi Чӑвашла Cymraeg Dansk Deutsch Zazaki Dolnoserbski Ελληνικά Emiliàn e rumagnòl Esperanto Español Eesti Euskara فارسی Suomi Võro Føroyskt Français Arpetan Nordfriisk Furlan Frysk Gaeilge Gagauz 贛語 Kriyòl gwiyannen Gàidhlig Galego Avañe'ẽ Gaelg 客家語 / Hak-kâ-ngî עברית हिन्दी Fiji Hindi Hrvatski Hornjoserbsce Kreyòl ayisyen Magyar Հայերեն Արեւմտահայերէն Interlingua Bahasa Indonesia Interlingue Ilokano ГӀалгӀай Ido Íslenska Italiano 日本語 La .lojban. 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For other uses, see 1961 (disambiguation). 1961 January February March April May June July August September October November December From top to bottom, left to right: Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human in space aboard Vostok 1; the Tsar Bomba is detonated by the Soviet Union; the Bay of Pigs invasion is launched against Cuba; the Berlin Crisis of 1961 heightens Cold War tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union; the Sino-Soviet split deepens divisions between the People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union; the Assassination of Patrice Lumumba intensifies the Congo Crisis; the Portuguese Colonial War begins in Angola against Portugal; the Sabena Flight 548 crash occurs in Belgium; and the Freedom Rides challenge segregation in the American South. Calendar year Years Millennium 2nd millennium Centuries 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s Years 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 v t e 1961 by topic Subject Animation Archaeology Architecture Art Aviation Awards Comics Film Literature Poetry Meteorology Music Country Jazz Rail transport Radio Science Spaceflight Sports Football Television American Belgian Brazilian British Scottish Canadian Danish Irish Italian By country Afghanistan Australia Belgium Brazil Bulgaria Canada China Denmark France Germany India Ireland Iran Israel Japan Kuwait Luxembourg Malaya New Zealand Norway Pakistan Philippines Portugal Singapore South Africa South Korea Soviet Union Spain Sweden Switzerland Thailand Turkey United Kingdom United States Lists of leaders Sovereign states Sovereign state leaders Territorial governors Religious leaders Law Birth and death categories Births Deaths Establishments and disestablishments categories Establishments Disestablishments Works category Works Introductions v t e 1961 in various calendarsGregorian calendar 1961 MCMLXI Ab urbe condita 2714 Armenian calendar 1410 ԹՎ ՌՆԺ Assyrian calendar 6711 Baháʼí calendar 117–118 Balinese saka calendar 1882–1883 Bengali calendar 1367–1368 Berber calendar 2911 British Regnal year 9 Eliz. 2 – 10 Eliz. 2 Buddhist calendar 2505 Burmese calendar 1323 Byzantine calendar 7469–7470 Chinese calendar 庚子年 (Metal Rat) 4658 or 4451     — to — 辛丑年 (Metal Ox) 4659 or 4452 Coptic calendar 1677–1678 Discordian calendar 3127 Ethiopian calendar 1953–1954 Hebrew calendar 5721–5722 Hindu calendars  - Vikram Samvat 2017–2018  - Shaka Samvat 1882–1883  - Kali Yuga 5061–5062 Holocene calendar 11961 Igbo calendar 961–962 Iranian calendar 1339–1340 Islamic calendar 1380–1381 Japanese calendar Shōwa 36 (昭和３６年) Javanese calendar 1892–1893 Juche calendar 50 Julian calendar Gregorian minus 13 days Korean calendar 4294 Minguo calendar ROC 50 民國50年 Nanakshahi calendar 493 Thai solar calendar 2504 Tibetan calendar ལྕགས་ཕོ་བྱི་བ་ལོ་ (male Iron-Rat) 2087 or 1706 or 934     — to — ལྕགས་མོ་གླང་ལོ་ (female Iron-Ox) 2088 or 1707 or 935 Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1961. 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. Calendar year Events [edit] January [edit] Main article: January 1961 January 1 – Monetary reform in the Soviet Union. January 3 United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba[1] (Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). Aero Flight 311 (Koivulahti air disaster): Douglas DC-3C OH-LCC of Finnish airline Aero crashes near Kvevlax (Koivulahti), on approach to Vaasa Airport in Finland, killing all 25 on board, due to pilot error: an investigation finds that the captain and first officer were both exhausted for lack of sleep, and had consumed excessive amounts of alcohol at the time of the crash. January 5 Italian sculptor Alfredo Fioravanti enters the U.S. Consulate in Rome, and confesses that he was part of the team that forged the Etruscan terracotta warriors in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. After the 1960 military coup, General Cemal Gürsel forms the new government of Turkey (25th government). January 7 – Following a four-day conference in Casablanca, five African chiefs of state announce plans for a NATO-type African organization to ensure common defense. The Charter of Casablanca involves the Casablanca Group: Morocco, the United Arab Republic, Ghana, Guinea, and Mali. January 8 – In France, a referendum supports Charles de Gaulle's policies on independence for Algeria. January 9 – British authorities announce they have uncovered a large Soviet spy ring, the Portland spy ring, in London. January 17 President Dwight Eisenhower gives his final State of the Union Address to Congress. In a Farewell Address the same day, he warns of the increasing power of a "military–industrial complex." Patrice Lumumba of the Republic of Congo is assassinated.[2] January 20 – John F. Kennedy is inaugurated as the 35th President of the United States, becoming the second-youngest president to be sworn in. January 23 – Congress of Venezuela adopts a new constitution (in force until 1999). January 24 – 1961 Goldsboro B-52 crash: A B-52 Stratofortress, carrying two nuclear bombs, crashes near Goldsboro, North Carolina. January 25 In Washington, D.C., President John F. Kennedy delivers the first live presidential news conference. In it, he announces that the Soviet Union has freed the two surviving crewmen from the July 1 1960 RB-47 shootdown incident involving a USAF reconnaissance aircraft and a MiG-19 over the Barents Sea. Acting to halt 'leftist excesses', a junta composed of two army officers and four civilians takes over El Salvador, ousting another junta that had ruled for three months. January 27 – Soviet submarine S-80 sinks in the Barents Sea, killing all 68 crew. January 28 – Supercar, the first family sci-fi TV series filmed in Supermarionation, debuts on ATV in the UK. January 30 – President John F. Kennedy delivers his first State of the Union Address.[3] January 31 – Ham, a 37-pound (17-kg) male chimpanzee, is rocketed into space aboard Mercury-Redstone 2, in a test of the Project Mercury spacecraft, designed to carry United States astronauts into space. February [edit] Main article: February 1961 February 1 – The United States tests its first Minuteman I intercontinental ballistic missile.[4] February 4 – The Portuguese Colonial War begins in Angola. February 5–9 – In Congo, President Joseph Kasa-Vubu names Joseph Iléo as the new Prime Minister. February 12 – The USSR launches Venera 1 towards Venus. February 13 – The Congo government announces that villagers have killed Patrice Lumumba.[5] February 14 – Discovery of the chemical elements: Element 103, Lawrencium, is first synthesized in Berkeley, California. February 15 United States President John F. Kennedy warns the Soviet Union to avoid interfering with the United Nations' pacification of the Congo.[6] Sabena Flight 548 crashes near Brussels, Belgium, killing 73, including the entire United States figure skating team and several coaches. The total solar eclipse of February 15, 1961, visible in the southern part of Europe, occurs. February 26 – Hassan II is pronounced King of Morocco. March [edit] Main article: March 1961 March–April – Drilling for Project Mohole is undertaken off the coast of Guadalupe Island, Mexico. March 1 – United States President John F. Kennedy establishes the Peace Corps. March 3 – Hassan II is crowned King of Morocco. March 8 Max Conrad circumnavigates the earth by light plane in 8 days, 18 hours and 49…