This article is about the year 1961. For other uses, see 1961 (disambiguation). Millennium: 2nd millennium Centuries: 19th century – 20th century – 21st century Decades: 1930s  1940s  1950s  – 1960s –  1970s  1980s  1990s Years: 1958 1959 1960 – 1961 – 1962 1963 1964 1961 by topic: Subject Archaeology – Architecture – Art – Aviation – Awards – Comics – Film – Literature (Poetry) – Meteorology – Music (Country) – Rail transport – Radio – Science – Spaceflight – Sports – Television By country Australia – Canada – People's Republic of China – Ecuador – France – Germany – Greece – India – Ireland – Israel – Italy – Japan – Luxembourg – Malaysia – Mexico – New Zealand – Norway – Pakistan – Philippines – Singapore – South Africa– Soviet Union – UK – USA Leaders Sovereign states – State leaders – Religious leaders – Law Birth and death categories Births – Deaths Establishments and disestablishments categories Establishments – Disestablishments Works and introductions categories Works – Introductions v · d · e 1961 in other calendars Gregorian calendar 1961 MCMLXI Ab urbe condita 2714 Armenian calendar 1410 ԹՎ ՌՆԺ Bahá'í calendar 117 – 118 Bengali calendar 1368 Berber calendar 2911 Buddhist calendar 2505 Burmese calendar 1323 Byzantine calendar 7469 – 7470 Chinese calendar 庚子年十一月十五日 (4597/4657-11-15) — to — 辛丑年十一月廿四日 (4598/4658-11-24) Coptic calendar 1677 – 1678 Ethiopian calendar 1953 – 1954 Hebrew calendar 5721 – 5722 Hindu calendars  - Bikram Samwat 2017 – 2018  - Shaka Samvat 1883 – 1884  - Kali Yuga 5062 – 5063 Holocene calendar 11961 Iranian calendar 1339 – 1340 Islamic calendar 1380 – 1381 Japanese calendar Shōwa 36 (昭和36年) Korean calendar 4294 Thai solar calendar 2504 v · d · e Year 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. As MAD Magazine pointed out on its cover for the March 1961 issue, this was the first "upside-up" year—i.e., one in which the numerals that form the year look the same as when the numerals are rotated upside down—since 1881, and the last until 6009.1 Contents Events of 1961 Jan. · Feb. · March · April · May · June · July · Aug. · Sept. · Oct. · Nov. · Dec. · Undated · Ongoing · World population Births Deaths Nobel Prizes See also · Notes · External links Events of 1961 January January 3 President Dwight Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba. At the National Reactor Testing Station near Idaho Falls, Idaho, atomic reactor SL-1 explodes, killing 3 military technicians. A Finnair airplane crashes near Kvevlax, Finland because of a drunk pilot. January 5 Italian sculptor Alfredo Fioravanti marches into 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. Cemal Gürsel forms the new government of Turkey (25th government) January 7 – Following a 4-day conference in Casablanca, 5 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 that they have discovered a large Soviet 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 Republic of Congo is assassinated. Jan. 20: John F. Kennedy inaugurated as President of the U.S. January 20 – John F. Kennedy succeeds Dwight Eisenhower as the 35th President of the United States of America. January 24 – B-52 Stratofortress, with two nuclear bombs, crashes near Goldsboro, North Carolina. January 25 In Washington, DC John F. Kennedy delivers the first live presidential news conference. In it, he announces that the Soviet Union has freed the 2 surviving crewmen of a USAF RB-47 reconnaissance plane shot down by Soviet flyers over the Barents Sea July 1, 1960 (see RB-47H shot down). Acting to halt 'leftist excesses,' a junta composed of 2 army officers and 4 civilians takes over El Salvador, ousting another junta that had ruled for 3 months. January 26 – John F. Kennedy appoints Janet G. Travell to be his physician, the first woman to hold this appointment. January 30 – President John F. Kennedy delivers his first State of the Union Address. January 31 – Ham the Chimp, a 37-pound (17-kg) male, is rocketed into space aboard Mercury-Redstone 2, in a test of the Project Mercury capsule, designed to carry United States astronauts into space. February February 1 – The United States launches its first test of the Minuteman I intercontinental ballistic missile.2 February 3 – China buys grain from Canada for $60 million. February 4 – The Portuguese Colonial War begins in Angola. February 5 – February 9 – In Congo, President Joseph Kasavubu names Joseph Ileo as the new Prime Minister. February 9 – The Beatles perform for the first time at the Cavern Club. February 12 – The U.S.S.R. launches Venera 1 towards Venus. February 13 – The Congo government announces that villagers have killed Patrice Lumumba. February 14 – Discovery of the chemical elements: Element 103, Lawrencium, is first synthesized in Berkeley, California. February 15 President Kennedy warns the Soviet Union to avoid interfering with the United Nations pacification of the Congo.[1] A Sabena Boeing 707 crashes near Brussels, Belgium, killing 73, including the entire United States figure skating team and several coaches. A total solar eclipse occurs in southern part of Europe February 25 – The last public trams in Sydney, Australia, cease operation, bringing to an end the Southern Hemisphere's largest tramway network. February 26 – Hassan II is pronounced King of Morocco. March March–April – Drilling for Project Mohole is undertaken off the coast of Guadalupe Island, Mexico. March 1 – President of the United States John F. Kennedy establishes the Peace Corps. March 3 – Hassan II is crowned King of Morocco. March 8 Max Conrad circumnavigates the earth in 8 days, 18 hours and 49 minutes, setting a new world record. The first U.S. Polaris submarines arrive at Holy Loch. March 13 Black and white £5 notes cease to be legal tender in the UK. A dam bursts on the Dnieper River in the USSR, killing 145. United States delegate to the UNSC Adlai Stevenson votes against Portuguese policies in Africa. President of the United States John F. Kennedy proposes a long-term "Alliance for Progress" between the United States and Latin America.3 Cyprus joins the Commonwealth of Nations, becoming the first small country in the Commonwealth.4 March 15 South Africa withdraws from the Commonwealth of Nations. The Union of Peoples of Angola, led by Holden Roberto, attacks strategic locations in the north of Angola. These events result in the beginning of the colonial war with Portugal. March 18 A ceasefire takes effect in the Algerian War of Independence. Nous les amoureux by Jean-Claude Pascal (music by Jacques Datin, text by Maurice Vidalin) wins the Eurovision Song Contest 1961 for Luxembourg. March 29 – The Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, allowing residents of Washington, D.C. to vote in presidential elections. March 30 – The Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs is signed at New York. April April 5 – The New Guinea Council of Western Papua is installed. April 8 – The British passenger ship Dara blows up and sinks off Dubai. 238 passengers and crew are killed. April 11 – The trial of Nazi Adolf Eichmann begins in Jerusalem. April 12 Vostok 1: Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human in space. Albert Kalonji takes the title Emperor Albert I Kalonji of South Kasai. April 13 – In Portugal, a coup attempt against António de Oliveira Salazar fails. April 17 The Bay of Pigs Invasion of Cuba begins; it fails by April 19. The 33rd Academy Awards ceremony is held. April 18 – Portugal sends to Angola its first military reinforcement. April 20 – Fidel Castro announces that the Bay of Pigs invasion has been defeated. April 22 – Algiers putsch: Four French generals who oppose de Gaulle's policies in Algeria fail in a coup attempt. April 23 – Judy Garland performs in a legendary comeback concert at Carnegie Hall in New York City. April 24 – The Swedish ship Regalskeppet Vasa is removed from the water after being sunk 333 years earlier. April 27 – President Kennedy delivers a revealing speech: The President and the Press: Address before the American Newspaper Publishers Association5 May May 4 – U.S. Freedom Riders begin interstate bus rides to test the new U.S. Supreme Court integration decision. May 5 – Mercury program: Alan Shepard becomes the first American in space aboard Mercury-Redstone 3. May 6 – Tottenham Hotspur F.C. become the first team in the 20th century to win the English league and cup double. May 8 – Briton George Blake is sentenced to 42 years imprisonment for spying. May 14 – American civil rights movement: A Freedom Riders bus is fire-bombed near Anniston, Alabama and the civil rights protestors are beaten by an angry mob. May 15 – Heinrich Matthaei alone performs the Poly-U-Experiment and is the first human to recognize and understand the genetic code. This is the birthdate of modern genetics.6 May 16 – Park Chung Hee takes over in a military coup in South Korea. May 19 – Venera program: Venera 1 becomes the first man-made object to fly-by another planet by passing Venus (however, the probe had lost contact with Earth a month earlier and does not send back any data). May 21 – American civil rights movement: Alabama Governor John Patterson declares martial law in an attempt to restore order after race riots break out. May 24 – American civil rights movement: Freedom Riders are arrested in Jackson, Mississippi for "disturbing the peace" after disembarking from their bus. May 25 – Apollo program: President Kennedy announces before a special joint session of Congress his goal to put a man on the Moon before the end of the decade. May 27 – Tunku Abdul Rahman, Prime Minister of Malaya, holds a press conference in Singapore, announcing his idea to form the Federation of Malaysia, comprising Malaya, Singapore, Sarawak, Brunei and North Borneo (Sabah). May 28 – Peter Benenson's article "The Forgotten Prisoners" is published in several internationally read newspapers. This is later considered the founding of the human rights organization Amnesty International. May 30 – Rafael Leónidas Trujillo, totalitarian despot of the Dominican Republic since 1930, is killed in an ambush, putting an end to the second longest-running dictatorship in Latin American history. May 31 In France, rebel generals Maurice Challe and Andre Zelelr are sentenced to 15 years in prison. South Africa officially leaves the Commonwealth of Nations. President John F. Kennedy and Charles De Gaulle meet in Paris. June June 1 – Ethiopia experiences her most devastating earthquake of the 20th century, with a magnitude of 6.7. The town of Majete is destroyed, 45% of the houses in Karakore collapse, 17 kilometers (11 miles) of the main road north of Karakore are damaged by landslides and fissures, and 5,000 inhabitants in the area are left homeless. June 4 – Vienna summit: John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev meet during 2 days in Vienna. They discuss nuclear tests, disarmament and Germany. June 17 A Paris-to-Strasbourg train derails near Vitry-le-François; 24 are killed, 109 injured. The New Democratic Party of Canada is founded with the merger of the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) and the Canadian Labour Congress. June 19 – The British protectorate ends in Kuwait and it becomes an emirate. June 21 – Russian ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev requests asylum in France while in Paris with the Kirov Ballet. June 22 – Moise Tshombe is released for lack of evidence of connection to the murder of Patrice Lumumba. June 23 – Antarctic Treaty comes into effect. June 25 – Iraqi president Abdul Karim Kassem announces he is going to annex Kuwait. June 27 – Kuwait requests British help; the United Kingdom sends in troops. July July 1 – Diana, Princess of Wales is born in Sandringham, Norfolk, England, to her parents: Frances Spencer, Viscountess Althorp and John Spencer, Viscount Althorp (later the 8th Earl Spencer). July 4 – The Soviet submarine K-19 reactor leak occurs in the North Atlantic. July 5 – The first Israeli rocket, Shavit 2, is launched.78 July 8 – A mine explosion in Czechoslovakia leaves 108 dead. July 21 – Mercury program: Gus Grissom, piloting the Mercury-Redstone 4 capsule Liberty Bell 7, becomes the second American to go into space (sub-orbital). Upon splashdown, the hatch prematurely opens, and the capsule sinks (it is recovered in 1999). July 31 At Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts, the first All-Star Game tie in major league baseball history occurs, when the game is stopped in the 9th inning due to rain (the only tie until 2002 in MLB All-Star Game history). Ireland submits the first ever application to join the then European Economic Community. August August – USA founds Alliance for Progress. August 1 – The Six Flags over Texas theme park officially opens to the public. August 6 – Vostok 2: Soviet cosmonaut Gherman Titov becomes the second human in space for more than one day. August 7 – Vostok 2 with Titov onboard lands in Soviet Union. August 10 – Britain applies for membership in the European Economic Community. August 13 – Construction of the Berlin Wall begins, restricting movement between East Berlin and West Berlin and forming a clear boundary between West Germany and East Germany, Western Europe and Eastern Europe. August 21 – Jomo Kenyatta is released from prison in Kenya. September September 1 – First meeting held of the Non-Aligned Movement. September 7 – Tom and Jerry make a return with their first episode since 1957, Switchin' Kitten. The new creator, Gene Deitch makes 12 more Tom and Jerry episodes until 1962. September 10 – During the F1 Italian Grand Prix on the circuit of Monza, German Wolfgang Von Trips, driving a Ferrari, crashes into a stand, killing 14 spectators and himself. September 14 – The new military government of Turkey sentences 15 members of the previous government to death. September 17 – September 18 – UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld dies in an air crash en route to Katanga, Congo. September 17 – Military rulers in Turkey hang former president Adnan Menderes. September 21 – In France, the OAS slips an anti-de Gaulle message into TV programming. September 24 – The old Deutsche Opernhaus in the Berlin neighborhood of Charlottenburg is returned to its newly rebuilt house as the Deutsche Oper Berlin. September 28 – A military coup in Damascus, Syria effectively ends the United Arab Republic, the union between Egypt and Syria. September 30 – Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) formed to replace the Organization for European Economic Co-operation (OEEC). October October 1 – Baseball player Roger Maris of the New York Yankees hits his 61st home run in the last game of the season, against the Boston Red Sox, beating the 34-year-old record held by Babe Ruth. October 10 – A volcanic eruption on Tristan da Cunha causes the whole population to be evacuated. October 12 – The death penalty is abolished in New Zealand. October 17 – Paris massacre of 1961: French police in Paris attack about 30,000 protesting a curfew applied solely to Algerians. The official death toll is 3, but human rights groups claim 240 dead. October 18 – West Side Story is released as a film. October 19 – The Arab League takes over protecting Kuwait; the last British troops leave. October 25 – The first edition of Private Eye, the British satirical magazine, is published. October 26 –Cemal Gürsel becomes the fourth president of Turkey. ( His former title was head of state and government. By constitution referendum, he is elected as president). October 27 An armistice begins in Katanga, Congo. Mongolia and Mauritania join the United Nations. A standoff between Soviet and American tanks in Berlin, Germany heightens Cold War tensions. Fahri Özdiilek becomes the acting prime minister of Turkey. October 29 DZBB-TV Channel 7, the Philippines' third TV station, is launched. Devrim has been released. Project completed only in 130 days almost from scratch and this period includes decision of the project, research, design, development and production of four cars. October 30 – Nuclear testing: The Soviet Union detonates a 58-megaton yield hydrogen bomb known as Tsar Bomba over Novaya Zemlya. It remains the largest ever man-made explosion. October 31 Hurricane Hattie devastates Belize City, Belize killing over 270. After the hurricane, the capital moves to the inland city of Belmopan. Joseph Stalin's body is removed from the Lenin Mausoleum. November November – The Fantastic Four #1 comic debuts, launching the Marvel Universe and revolutionizing the American comic book industry. November 1 The Hungry generation Movement is launched in Calcutta, India. The Interstate Commerce Commission's federal order banning segregation at all interstate public facilities officially comes into effect. November 2 – Kean opens at Broadway Theater in New York City for 92 performances. November 3 – The UN General Assembly unanimously elects U Thant acting Secretary General. November 6 – The U.S. government issues a stamp honoring the 100th birthday of James Naismith. November 9 – Neil Armstrong records a world record speed in a rocket plane of 6,587 km/h flying a X-15. November 10 – Catch-22 is first published by Joseph Heller. November 11 Congolese soldiers murder 13 Italian United Nations pilots. Stalingrad is renamed Volgograd. November 17 – Michael Rockefeller, son of New York Governor, and later Vice President Nelson Rockefeller, disappears in the jungles of New Guinea. November 18 – U.S. President John F. Kennedy sends 18,000 military advisors to South Vietnam. November 20 The funeral of longtime House Speaker Sam Rayburn is held in Washington, DC. Two former Presidents (Truman, Eisenhower) and one future one (Lyndon B. Johnson) join President Kennedy in paying their respects. İsmet İnönü of CHP forms the new government of Turkey (26th government, first coalition in Turkey , partner AP) November 24 – World Food Program (WFP) formed as a temporary UN program. November 30 – The Soviet Union vetoes Kuwait's application for United Nations membership. December December 1 – Netherlands New Guinea raises the new Morning Star flag and changes its name to West Papua. December 2 – Cold War: In a nationally broadcast speech, Cuban leader Fidel Castro announces he is a Marxist-Leninist, and that Cuba will adopt socialism. December 5 – U.S. President John F. Kennedy gives support to the Volta Dam project in Ghana. December 9 Tanganyika gains independence and declares itself a republic, with Julius Nyerere as its first President. The Australian government of Robert Menzies is re-elected for a sixth term. December 10 – The Soviet Union severs diplomatic relations with Albania. December 11 The Vietnam War officially begins, as the first American helicopters arrive in Saigon along with 400 U.S. personnel. Adolf Eichmann is pronounced guilty of crimes against humanity by a panel of 3 Israeli judges. December 15 An Israeli war crimes tribunal sentences Adolf Eichmann to die for his part in The Holocaust. A circus tent fire in Niteroi, Brazil kills 323. December 17 – India occupies Goa. December 18 – India occupies the Portuguese colonies of Goa, Damao and Diu. December 19 Goa is officially ceded to India after 400 years of Portuguese rule. Indonesian president Sukarno announces that he will take West Irian by force if necessary. December 21 – In Congo, Katangan prime minister Moise Tshombe recognizes the Congolese constitution. December 23 – Luxembourg's national holiday, the Grand Duke's Official Birthday, is set on June 23 by Grand Ducal decree. December 30 – Congolese troops capture Albert Kalonji of South Kasai (who soon escapes). December 31 – Ireland's first national television station, Telefís Éireann (later RTÉ), begins broadcasting. Undated "Barbie" gets a boyfriend when the "Ken" doll is introduced. The Incredible Journey is published. Ongoing events Great Chinese Famine (1958–1961) Births January–February January 1 – Sergei Babayan, American classical pianist January 1 – Sam Backo, Australian rugby league footballer January 2 – Todd Haynes, American film director January 5 – Iris DeMent, American singer-songwriter January 7 – Supriya Pathak,Indian actress January 8 – Calvin Smith, American athlete January 9 – Al Jean, American writer for "The Simpsons" January 11 – Karl von Habsburg-Lothringen (Károly), Archduke, Prince Imperial of Austria, Prince Royal of Hungary January 13 Julia Louis-Dreyfus, American actress Suggs, British singer and TV presenter January 14 – Mike Tramp, Danish rock singer (White Lion) January 17 – Maia Chiburdanidze, Georgian chess player January 18 Mark Messier, Canadian hockey player Peter Beardsley, English footballer (Newcastle United, England & Liverpool) January 24 Guido Buchwald, German football player Nastassja Kinski, German-born actress January 26 – Wayne Gretzky, Canadian hockey player January 28 – Arnaldur Indridason, Icelandic writer January 30 – Dexter Scott King, son of Martin Luther King, Jr. January 31 – Lloyd Cole, British singer and songwriter February 1 – Volker Fried, German field hockey player February 3 – Jim Balsillie, Canadian CEO and philanthropist February 8 – Vince Neil, American singer February 9 John Kruk, American baseball player and commentator Jussi Lampi, Finnish musician and actor February 10 – George Stephanopoulos, American political consultant and commentator February 11 – Mary Docter, American speed skater February 13 – Henry Rollins, American musician and political activist February 14 – Latifa, Tunisian singer February 22 – Akira Takasaki, Japanese guitarist February 25 – Davey Allison, American race car driver (d. 1993) February 27 – James Worthy, American basketball player and analyst February 28 – Mark Latham, Australian politician March–April March – Reggie Fils-Aimé, American businessperson March 3 John Matteson, Pulitzer Prize-winning American biographer Mary Page Keller, American actress March 4 Ray Mancini, American boxer Steven Weber, American actor Roger Wessels, South African golfer March 9 Mike Leach, American college football coach Rick Steiner, American professional wrestler March 10 Mike Bullard, American hockey player Laurel Clark, American astronaut (d. 2003) Mitch Gaylord, American gymnast March 14 – Gary Dell'Abate, American radio producer March 16 – Brett Kenny, Australian rugby league player March 17 – Umayya Abu-Hanna, Palestine-born Finnish writer and politician March 21 – Lothar Matthäus, German footballer March 23 – Helmi Johannes, Indonesian television newscaster March 27 – Tak Matsumoto, Japanese guitarist (B'z) March 28 – Byron Scott, American basketball player and coach March 29 Amy Sedaris, American actress, comedian and writer Gerardo Teissonniere, Puerto Rican pianist April 1 – Susan Boyle, Scottish singer April 2 – Christopher Meloni, American actor April 3 – Eddie Murphy, American actor and comedian April 5 – Lisa Zane, American actress April 6 – Gene Eugene, Canadian actor and singer April 7 – Thurl Bailey, American basketball player April 12 – Lisa Gerrard, Australian musician April 14 – Neil Dougherty, American basketball coach April 17 Frank J. Christensen, American labor leader Daphna Kastner, Canadian actress April 18 – Jane Leeves, English actress April 20 – Don Mattingly, American baseball player April 20 – Konstantin Lavronenko, Russian actor April 21 – Cathy Cavadini American voice actress April 23 – George Lopez, American actor and comedian April 26 – Anthony Cumia, American radio personality April 27 – Moana Pozzi, Italian porn actress (d. 1994) April 28 – Futoshi Matsunaga, Japanese serial killer April 29 – Fumihiko Tachiki, Japanese seiyuu April 30 – Isiah Thomas, American basketball player, coach, and team owner May–June May 2 – Steve James, English snooker player May 3 – Joe Murray, American animator May 5 – Hiroshi Hase, Japanese professional wrestler May 6 – George Clooney, American actor May 7 – Robert Spano, American conductor and pianist May 8 Janet McTeer, British actress Akira Taue, Japanese professional wrestler May 9 – Rene Capo, American judoka (d. 2009) May 13 – Dennis Rodman, American basketball player and actor May 14 – Tim Roth, English actor May 17 – Enya (Eithne Patricia Ní Bhraonáin), Irish musician May 22 – Mike Breen, American sports announcer May 27 – Peri Gilpin, American actress May 29 – Melissa Etheridge, American musician May 30 – Ralph Carter, American actor May 31 Ray Cote, Canadian ice hockey player Justin Madden, Australian footballer and politician Lea Thompson, American actress June 1 – Paul Coffey, Canadian hockey player June 2 – Dez Cadena, American musician June 3 – Lawrence Lessig, American academic and political activist June 5 Anthony Burger, American musician and singer (d. 2006) Rosie Kane, Member of Scottish Parliament June 6 – Tom Araya, Chilean-born rock musician (Slayer) June 9 – Michael J. Fox, Canadian actor June 10 Maxi Priest, British reggae singer Kim and Kelley Deal, American musicians June 14 – "Boy George", British musician and producer June 15 – Dave McAuley, Northern Irish boxer June 18 – Andrés Galarraga, Venezuelan baseball player June 20 – Karin Kania, German speed skater June 21 – Manu Chao, French singer June 23 Zoran Janjetov, Serbian comic artist David Leavitt, American novelist June 24 – Lisa Bevill, American Christian musician June 25 Ricky Gervais, English comedian, actor, writer Mike Breen, American broadcaster June 26 – Greg LeMond, American cyclist June 27 – Meera Syal, British-Indian comedienne and actress June 28 – Jeff Malone, American basketball player June 29 – Greg Hetson, American rock guitarist (Bad Religion, Circle Jerks) July–August July 1 Kalpana Chawla, Indian-American astronaut (d. 2003) Diana, Princess of Wales (d. 1997) Carl Lewis, American athlete July 4 – Andrew Zimmern, American television personality (Bizarre Foods) July 5 – Patrizia Scianca, Italian voice actress July 7 – Eric Jerome Dickey, American writer July 8 – Toby Keith, American country music singer July 10 – Jacky Cheung, Hong Kong singer and actor July 14 – Jackie Earle Haley, American actor July 17 – Jonathan Potts, Canadian actor July 19 Maria Filatova, Soviet gymnast Benoît Mariage, Belgian film director July 22 – Keith Sweat, American singer July 23 – Woody Harrelson, American actor and comedian July 25 – Hugo Teufel III, 2nd Chief Privacy Officer, Department of Homeland Security July 26 – Keiko Matsui, Japanese pianist and composer July 30 – Laurence Fishburne, American actor August 3 – Nick Harvey, English politician August 4 Robin Carnahan, Secretary of State of Missouri Barack Obama, 44th (counting Grover Cleveland twice) President of the United States August 5 – Clayton Rohner, American actor August 7 Brian Conley, English TV presenter, comedian, singer & actor Yelena Davydova, Soviet gymnast August 8 Bruce Matthews, American football player The Edge (David Howell Evans), Irish rock guitarist (U2) Rikki Rockett, American rock drummer (Poison) August 9 – John Key, Prime Minister of New Zealand August 12 – R.H.Rennekamp, Political Blogger (R.H.Rennekamp: "Enough Said!") August 14 – Susan Olsen, American actress and animal welfare advocate August 18 – Bob Woodruff, American television journalist August 21 – Stephen Hillenburg, American animation writer and artist August 22 – Andres Calamaro, Argentine musician August 25 – Billy Ray Cyrus, American singer and actor August 26 – Daniel Lévi, French singer-songwriter, composer and pianist August 29 – Carsten Fischer, German field hockey player September–October September 1 – Cécilia Rhode, Miss Sweden September 2 Anthony Wong Chau Sang, Hong Kong actor Carlos Valderrama, Colombian footballer Felix Wong, Hong Kong Actor September 5 – Karim Abdul Razak, Ghanaian footballer September 6 Paul Waaktaar-Savoy, Norwegian rock musician and songwriter Akira Kuroiwa, Japanese speed skater September 7 – Kevin Kennedy, British actor September 11 Elizabeth Daily, American actress Virginia Madsen, American actress September 12 – Mylene Farmer, Canadian singer and songwriter September 13 – Dave Mustaine, American metal singer, guitarist (Megadeth) September 14 – Martina Gedeck, German actress September 15 Dan Marino, American football player Lidia Yusupova, Chechen human-rights lawyer September 18 – James Gandolfini, American actor September 20 – Caroline Flint, British Politician and Labour MP for Don Valley September 22 Bonnie Hunt, American actress, comedian, writer, director and television producer Catherine Oxenberg, British actress September 23 – William C. McCool, U.S. Army Commander and astronaut (d. 2003) September 25 – Heather Locklear, American actress September 26 – Edward Kennedy Jr, son of U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy September 27 – Andy Lau, Hong Kong actor and singer September 28 – Yordanka Donkova, Bulgarian athlete September 29 – Julia Gillard, Australian politician September 30 – Sally Yeh, Hong Kong singer and actress Eric Stoltz American actor and director October 1 Gary Ablett, Australian rules footballer Robert Rey, Brazilian-American plastic surgeon and television personality Rico Constantino, American professional wrestler October 2 – Edmond Yu, Chinese student (d. 1997) October 4 – Philippe Russo, French singer October 5 – Matthew Kauffman, American journalist and George Polk Award winner October 6 – Mark Shasha, American artist, author, illustrator October 11 Steve Young, American football player Amr Diab, Egyptian singer October 13 – Doc Rivers, American basketball player and coach October 16 – Randy Vasquez, American actor October 18 – Wynton Marsalis, American trumpeter and composer October 18 – Rick Moody, American writer October 24 – Dave Meltzer, American wrestling journalist October 25 – Pat Sharp, British radio DJ and host October 26 – Dylan McDermott, American actor October 29 – Randy Jackson, American musician October 31 Alonzo Babers, American runner Peter Jackson, New Zealand film director Larry Mullen, Jr., Irish rock drummer (U2) November–December November 1 – Anne Donovan, American basketball player November 2 – k.d. lang, Canadian singer and songwriter November 4 Daron Hagen, American composer Ralph Macchio, American actor Nigel Worthington, Northern Irish footballer and football manager November 5 – Gina Mastrogiacomo, American actress (d. 2001) November 9 – Jill Dando, British journalist and television presenter (d. 1999) November 11 – Jan Kuehnemund, American guitarist (Vixen) November 12 – Nadia Comăneci, Romanian gymnast November 14 – Jurga Ivanauskaitė, Lithuanian writer (d. 2007) November 15 – Ian Reid, Australian educator November 18 – Anthony Warlow, Australian singer November 19 – Meg Ryan, American actress November 20 – Dave Watson, English footballer November 22 Mariel Hemingway, American actress Randal L. Schwartz, American computer programmer November 24 – Arundhati Roy, Indian writer and activist December 3 – Marcelo Fromer, Brazilian guitarist December 4 Frank Reich, American football player Roy Dennis, disabled American boy (d. 1978) December 8 – Ann Coulter, American author, conservative commentator and attorney December 12 Sarah Sutton, British actress Daniel O'Donnell, Irish singer December 15 – Karin Resetarits, Austrian journalist and politician December 16 – Bill Hicks, American comedian (d. 1994) December 19 Matthew Waterhouse, British actor Eric Allin Cornell, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate Reggie White, American football player (d. 2004) December 20 – Mohammad Fouad, Arab singer and actor December 21 – Francis Ng, Hong Kong actor December 23 – Ezzat el Kamhawi, Egyptian novelist. December 24 – Ilham Aliyev, President of Azerbaijan December 25 – Ingrid Betancourt, Colombian senator December 26 – John Lynch, Northern Irish actor December 29 – Jim Reid, Scottish musician December 30 Douglas Coupland, Canadian author Sean Hannity, American radio/television host and conservative commentator Ben Johnson, Canadian athlete Matt Goldman, Blue Man Group founder Deaths January–June January 4 – Erwin Schrödinger, Austrian physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1887) January 9 – Emily Greene Balch, American writer and pacifist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1867) January 10 – Dashiell Hammett, American writer (b. 1894) January 14 – Barry Fitzgerald, American actor (b. 1888) January 17 – Patrice Lumumba, Prime Minister of the Republic of the Congo (b. 1925) January 18 – Thomas Anthony Dooley III, physician (b. 1927) January 21 – Blaise Cendrars, Swiss writer (b. 1887) January 24 – Alfred Carlton Gilbert, American swimmer and inventor (b. 1884) January 26 – Stan Nichols, English cricketer (b. 1900) January 29 – Jesse Wallace, American naval officer, 29th Governor of American Samoa (b. 1899) January 30 – Dorothy Thompson, American journalist (b. 1893) February 2 – Anna May Wong, Chinese-American actress (b. 1907) February 3 – Viscount Dunrossil, Australian governor-general (b. 1893) February 7 – William Duncan, American actor (b. 1879) February 15 – Laurence Owen, American Figure Skater (b. 1944) February 17 – Nita Naldi, American actress (b. 1897) February 20 – Percy Grainger, Australian composer (b. 1882) February 22 – Nick LaRocca, American jazz musician (b. 1889) February 26 – King Mohammed V of Morocco (b. 1909) March 3 – Paul Wittgenstein, Austrian-born pianist (b. 1887) March 6 – George Formby, British singer, comedian & actor (b. 1904) March 8 Sir Thomas Beecham, English conductor (b. 1879) Gala Galaction, Romanian writer (b. 1879) March 12 – Belinda Lee, English actress (b. 1935) March 17 – Susanna M. Salter, first woman mayor in the United States (b. 1860) March 23 – Valentin Bondarenko, Russian cosmonaut (b. 1937) March 26 – Carlos Duarte Costa, founder of the Brazilian Catholic Apostolic Church (b. 1888) April 6 – Jules Bordet, Belgian immunologist and microbiologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1870) April 7 – Vanessa Bell, English artist and interior designer (b. 1879) April 9 – Ahmet Zog, King of Albania (b. 1895) April 21 – James Melton, American tenor (b. 1904) April 24 – Lee Moran, American actor (b. 1888) April 25 – George Melford, American actor (b. 1877) April 27 – Roy Del Ruth, American film director (b. 1893) May 3 – Maurice Merleau-Ponty, French phenomenological philosopher (b. 1908) May 6 – Lucian Blaga, Romanian poet and philosopher (b. 1895) May 13 – Gary Cooper, American actor (High Noon) (b. 1901) May 14 – Albert Sévigny, Canadian politician (b. 1881) May 16 – George A. Malcolm, American jurist & educator (b. 1881) May 22 – Joan Davis, American actress (b. 1907) May 30 – Rafael Leónidas Trujillo, dictator of the Dominican Republic (b. 1891) May 31 – Walter Little, Canadian politician (b. 1877) June 2 – George S. Kaufman, American playwright (b. 1889) June 6 – Carl Jung, Swiss psychiatrist (b. 1875) June 14 – Eddie Polo, Austro-American dramatist (b. 1875) June 16 – Marcel Junod, Swiss physician (b. 1904) June 17 Jeff Chandler, American actor (b. 1918) Thomas Darden, American Rear admiral, 37th Governor of American Samoa (b. 1900) June 24 – George Washington Vanderbilt III, American philanthropist (b. 1914) June 25 – John A D McCurdy, Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia & pilot (b. 1886) June 30 – Lee DeForest, American inventor (b. 1873) July–December July 1 – Louis-Ferdinand Céline, French writer (b. 1894) July 2 – Ernest Hemingway, American writer, Nobel Prize laureate (suicide) (b. 1899) July 4 – Franklyn Farnum, American actor (b. 1878) July 6 – Woodall Rodgers, Mayor of Dallas, Texas (b. 1890) July 17 – Ty Cobb, American baseball player (b. 1886) July 23 Esther Dale, American actress (b. 1885) Valentine Davies, American screenwriter (b. 1905) August 4 – Maurice Tourneur, French film director (b. 1873) August 8 – Mei Lanfang, Beijing opera star (b. 1894) August 20 – Percy Williams Bridgman, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1882) August 26 – Gail Russell, American actress (b. 1924) August 30 – Charles Coburn, American actor (b. 1877) September 1 – Eero Saarinen, Finnish architect (b. 1910) September 10 – Leo Carrillo, American actor (b. 1880) September 11 – George Irving, American actor (b. 1874) September 17 – Adnan Menderes, Turkish prime minister (executed) (b. 1899) September 18 – Dag Hammarskjöld, Swedish Secretary General of the United Nations, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1905) September 22 – Marion Davies, American actress (b. 1897) September 24 – Sumner Welles, American diplomat (b. 1892) September 25 – Frank Fay, American actor (b. 1897) September 26 – Juanita Hansen, American actress (b. 1895) October 1 – Donald Cook, American actor (b. 1901) October 4 Metropolitan Benjamin (Fedchenkov), Orthodox missionary and writer, Exarch of Russian Church in North America (b. 1880) Max Weber, Polish-American artist (b. 1881) October 11 – Chico Marx, American comedian (b. 1887) October 13 Dun Karm Psaila, Maltese writer (b. 1871) Maya Deren, Russian-born filmmaker (b. 1917) Zoltán Korda, Hungarian screenwriter and director (b. 1895) October 14 – Harriet Shaw Weaver, English political activist (b. 1876) October 19 – Şemsettin Günaltay, ex prime minister of Turkey (b. 1883) October 22 – Joseph Schenck, Russian-born film studio executive (b. 1878) November 1 – Mordecai Ham, American evangelist (b. 1877) November 2 – James Thurber, American humorist (b. 1894) November 15 – Elsie Ferguson, American actress (b. 1883) November 16 – Sam Rayburn, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (b. 1882) November 24 – Ruth Chatterton, American actress (b. 1893) December 2 – Herbert Pitman, British sailor, third officer of the RMS Titanic (b. 1877) December 6 – Frantz Fanon, philosopher (b. 1925) December 13 – Anna Mary Robertson Moses aka Grandma Moses, painter (b. 1860) December 20 Moss Hart, American dramatist (b. 1904) Earle Page, 11th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1880) December 23 – Kurt Meyer, German Waffen-SS officer (b. 1910) December 25 – Otto Loewi, German-born pharmacologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1873) December 28 – Edith Bolling Galt Wilson, second wife of U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, was First Lady of the United States from 1915 to 1921. December 29 – Sibyl Morrison, first female barrister in New South Wales, Australia (b. 1895) Nobel Prizes Physics – Robert Hofstadter, Rudolf Mössbauer Chemistry – Melvin Calvin Physiology or Medicine – Georg von Békésy Literature – Ivo Andrić Peace – Dag Hammarskjöld (posthumously) References ^ Doug Gilford's Mad Cover Site ^ Fas.org ^ JFK Library.org ^ McIntyre, W. David (April 2008). "The Expansion of the Commonwealth and the Criteria for Membership". Round Table 97 (395): 273–85. doi:10.1080/00358530801962089.  ^ JFK Library.org ^ Hans-Jörg Rheinberger, "Experimentalsysteme – Eine Geschichte der Proteinsynthese im Reagenzglas" Wallstein ISBN 3-89244-454-4 ^ "Missile Overview". Nuclear Threat Initiative. http://www.nti.org/e_research/profiles/Egypt/Missile/index.html. Retrieved 2007-12-18.  ^ "July 1961". NASA. http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/Timeline/1961-3.html. Retrieved 2007-12-18.  Wikimedia Commons has media related to: 1961