At A Glance

1 December 1961 at a glance

Day of the week
1 December 1961 was a Friday.
Australian No. 1 (Kent retrospective)
“Goodbye, Cruel World” by James Darren was No. 1 on David Kent's retrospective Australian chart. This chart was compiled later by David Kent from radio station charts.
Top Film of 1961
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1961 was One Hundred and One Dalmatians.
Star sign
The star sign for 1 December is Sagittarius.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 1 December 1961 fell in the Year of the Ox.
Birthstone
The birthstone for December is Turquoise.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 1 December 1961 was Waning Crescent.

On this day: 1 December

  • 1955 American Civil Rights Movement: In Montgomery, Alabama, seamstress Rosa Parks refuses to give up her bus seat to a white man and is arrested for violating the city's racial segregation laws, an incident which leads to that city's bus boycott.
  • 1958 The Central African Republic attains self-rule within the French Union.
  • 1959 Cold War: Opening date for signature of the Antarctic Treaty, which sets aside Antarctica as a scientific preserve and bans military activity on the continent.
  • 1960 Patrice Lumumba is arrested by Mobutu Sese Seko's men on the banks of the Sankuru River, for inciting the army to rebellion.
  • 1963 Nagaland, became the 16th state of India.

Famous people born on 1 December

  • Zoë Kravitz, American actress, singer, and model (born 1988)
  • Riz Ahmed, English actor and rapper (born 1982)
  • Richard Pryor, American comedian, actor, producer, and screenwriter (1940–2005)
  • Robert Irwin, Australian conservationist and television personality (born 2003)

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Choose your country: the charts, news and leaders change to match.

Events of 1961 in Australia

A selection from Wikipedia's '1961 in Australia'. Not a complete list.

  • 2 January – Oral contraceptives are first sold in Australia
  • 20 January – to early March – Disastrous bushfires affect Western Australia, completely destroying a number of towns.
  • 25 February – Last electric tram service runs in Sydney

Life in Australia in 1961

Prime Minister

Robert Menzies

Monarch

Queen Elizabeth II

Petrol (per litre)

$0.05

Loaf of Bread

$0.13

Average House

$6,300

Weekly Wage

$17.00

Or

Browse by Year

Famous Faces Born in the 1960s

Well-known people born in the same decade as you, not on your birthday.

Sources: Wikidata and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

About The Day You Were Born

Ever wondered what was happening in the world when you took your first breath? Our birthday lookup tool reveals the fascinating history of your special day.

About The Birthday Chronicle and where our data comes from →