USA 1961

In 1961

John F. Kennedy becomes president of the US An estimated 1200 anti-Castro exiles aided by the US make a failed invasion of Cuba's Bay of Pigs Navy Cmdr. Alan B. Shepard Jr. becomes the first US spaceman rocketing 118 miles above the earth Hurricane "Carla" wipes out Texas gulf cities, claiming 46 lives Russian Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin makes the first manned space flight Wayne Gretzky, Henry Rollins, Fabio, George Clooney, Dennis Rodman, and Diana, Princess of Wales are born New York Yankees win the World series Green Bay Packers win the NFL championship Chicago Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup Disney's One Hundred and One Dalmatians is the top grossing film Catch-22 by Joseph Heller is published The Miracles' "Shop Around" becomes Motown's first million-selling single

What Happened the Year You Were Born?

It can be fun to check out what happened back then. Unfortunately, the picked events are mostly American . After all in 1961, nobody talked yet about Globalization. Apart for Gagarin one would think everything happened in the US.

I believe though that in Egypt the Agricultural reform laws were passed. Also Marilyn Monroe divorced Arthur Miller. Dag Hammarskjold, UN secretary general was killed in an plane crash. Adolf Eichmann found guilty in a trial in Israel. Patrice Lumumba Prime Minister of Congo was murdered. The French voted massively 75 per cent for Algeria's freedom. The Berlin Wall was built. In England the pill was finally available to all 10 years after its invention. Electric Toothbrush were marketed and Barbie got a boyfriend by the name of Ken. Barrack Obama and Amr Diab were born.The Vietnam war officially begins. Digital photography was invented. Ernest Hemingway commits suicide. Hassan II is proclaimed King.

Also, MAD Magazine pointed out on its cover for the March 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.

So if you are interested maybe a better way of finding out is to do a search on the year you were born and check what Wikipedia says.