Events 1 - 200 of 581
Oilers Defeat Chargers
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 Hawaii's, then all time low temperature, 14°F recorded atop Haleakale
Powell Elected to Committee
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
McCartney Plays Bass
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 UN genocide pact goes into effect
- Jan 14 Chicago Bear Willard Dewveall becomes 1st NFLer to join AFL
Gordy Signs Supremes
Jan 15 Berry Gordy signs The Supremes to Motown Records
- Jan 16 Russian espionage ring detected in Great Britain
Eisenhower's Farewell Address
Jan 17 US 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".
Djilas Flees
Jan 20 Yugoslav ex-vice-president Milovan Djilas flees
- 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 US Supreme Court rules cities and states have the right to censor films
- Jan 23 Venezuela adopts constitution
American Dream
Jan 24 Edward Albee's one-act play "American Dream" premieres in NYC
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
Are You Lonesome Tonight
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
"Il trovatore"
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
- Jan 28 Republic of Rwanda proclaimed
"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, a $20 billion US Aid program for Latin America
- Jan 30 KAET TV channel 8 in Phoenix, AZ (PBS) begins broadcasting
Sports History
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
Ben-Gurion Resigns
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
Powell Increases Medical Insurance
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
Anglo War of Independence
Feb 4 Angolan War of Independence begins when militants storm Luanda jail and barracks, trying to free political prisoners (last until 1974)
- 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
Jane Fonda Debut
Feb 7 Jane Fonda made her acting debut in the NBC drama "A String of Beads"
Piston's 7th Symphony
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
- 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 Dutchman Henk van der Grift becomes world champ all-round skater
Event of Interest
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 college basketball win streak
- Feb 25 Paul Bikle in glider climbs from 1,208 m at release to record altitude of 1,410m
- 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 US President John F Kennedy names Henry Kissinger special advisor
Event of Interest
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
Sputnik 9 Launched
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 overcomes two 1st round knockdowns to KO Ingemar Johansson in 6 in Miami Beach and retain the world heavyweight boxing crown
- 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
Sports History
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
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
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 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 at Pearl Harbor’s Bloch Arena in a benefit for the USS Arizona Memorial; his return to the concert stage after a stint in the US Army raises $60K and worldwide awareness of the project [1]
- 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)
TV Show Appearance
Apr 5 Barbra Streisand appears on "Jack Paar Show"
- Apr 5 Dutch governor Platteel installs New Guinea Council
- Apr 8 British liner "Dara" explodes in Persian Gulf, kills 236
- 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 Austrian 4th & last government of Raab resigns
Eichmann's War Crimes Trial
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 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 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 the 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 Construction begins on the Space Needle in Seattle, Washington; 5,850 tons of concreter delivered by 467 trucks over 12 hours for the foundation
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
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
- Apr 24 JFK accepts "sole responsibility" following Bay of Pigs
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
- Apr 25 Unmanned Mercury test explodes on launch pad
- Apr 26 French paratroopers' revolt suppressed in Algeria
Baseball History
Apr 26 Roger Maris hits 1st of 61 homers in 1961
Sports History
Apr 28 Milwaukee Braves' future HOF pitcher Warren Spahn throws his second career no hitter at 41; beats SF Giants, 1-0 at County Stadium
- Apr 29 ABC's "Wide World of Sports" debuts
- Apr 30 "Tossin' and Turnin'" single released by Bobby Lewis (Billboard Song of the Year, 1961)
- Apr 30 1st shuttle flights between Washington, D.C., Boston & NYC begin (Eastern)
- Apr 30 LPGA Titleholders Championship Women's Golf, Augusta CC: Mickey Wright wins her 5th major title by 1 stroke from Patty Berg & Louise Suggs
Baseball Record
Apr 30 MLB San Francisco Giants outfielder Willie Mays becomes just the 9th player in MLB history to hit 4 homers in one game in 14-4 win against the Braves in Milwaukee
- Apr 30 Premier Fidel Castro of Cuba receives Lenin-Peace Prize
- May 1 1st US airplane hijacked to Cuba
- May 1 Fidel Castro announces there will be no more elections in Cuba
Event of Interest
May 1 Pulitzer prize awarded to Harper Lee for her novel "To Kill a Mockingbird"
- May 1 Tanganyika granted full internal self-government by Britain
- May 4 1st on-the-road Spacemobile lecture given.
- May 4 CORE begins freedom rides from Washington, D.C.
- May 4 Malcolm Ross & Victor Prather reach 34,668 m (record) in balloon
- May 4 South Africa ANC leader John Nkadimeng arrested
Event of Interest
May 5 Alan Shepard becomes 1st American in space (aboard Freedom 7)
- May 6 Omer Vanaudenhove chosen chairman of Belgium Liberal Party
- May 8 1st practical sea water conversion plant-Freeport, Texas
- May 8 Alan Shepard receives NASA Distinguished Service Medal, Washington
- May 9 Baltimore Oriole Jim Gentile hits 2 grand slams (9 RBIs) vs Minnesota Twins
- May 9 Jim Gentile is 4th to hit grand slams in consecutive innings
- May 9 US Federal Communication Commission (FCC) Chairman Newton N. Minow criticizes TV as a "vast wasteland" during a speech before the National Association of Broadcasters
Music History
May 10 Alan Bennett, Peter Cook, Dudley Moore and Jonathan Miller comedy revue "Beyond the Fringe" opens at the Fortune Theatre in London's West End
Sports History
May 12 Russian Mikhail Botvinnik wins world chess championship for 3rd time
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