The events of 1961
- 01 January 1961
The farthing coin ceases to be legal tender – the coin had been tender since the 13th century.
- 20 January 1961
US – John F. Kennedy becomes the 35th President of the United States.
- 24 January 1961
A U.S. Plane (B52 bomber) carrying two 2.4 megaton nuclear bombs, crashes in North Carolina.
- 31 January 1961
Ham, the first Chimpanzee in space returns safely.
- 06 March 1961
George Formby dies after suffering a heart attack.
- 13 March 1961
Black and white £5 notes cease to be legal tender.
- 12 April 1961
The Russians beat the US in the Space Race – Yuri Gagarin becomes the first man in space.
- 17 April 1961
Exiles commence the Bay of Pigs Invasion of Cuba.
- 05 May 1961
American Alan B. Shepard becomes the first American in space.
- 02 June 1961
Ernest Hemingway commits suicide.
- 17 June 1961
Russian Ballet Dancer, Rudolf Nureyev makes a run for freedom and requests asylum.
- 25 June 1961
Iraqi president Abdul Karim Kassem announces his intention to capture Kuwait. Kuwait asks for British help.
- 01 July 1961
Lady Diana Spencer, the future Diana Princess of Wales, is born.
- 13 August 1961
East – West Germany – Construction of the Berlin Wall begins.
- 19 October 1961
British Troops leave Kuwait as the The Arab League takes over protecting Kuwait .
- 25 October 1961
The first edition of satirical magazine Private Eye, is published.
- 30 October 1961
The Russians explode the largest ever hydrogen bomb. The 58 megaton device is condemned by the world.
- 10 November 1961
Joseph Heller publishes Catch-22.
- 18 November 1961
The US President John F. Kennedy sends 18,000 military advisors into South Vietnam.
- 02 December 1961
Cuba – Fidel Castro declares he is a Marxist-Leninist, and that Cuba will adopt Communism.
- 04 December 1961
The Contraception Pill becomes available on the NHS.
- 11 December 1961
Start of the Vietnam War – The Vietnam War officially begins, as the first American helicopters arrive in Saigon.
