At A Glance

19 May 1961 at a glance

Day of the week
19 May 1961 was a Friday.
Australian No. 1 (Kent retrospective)
“Runaway” by Del Shannon 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 19 May is Taurus.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 19 May 1961 fell in the Year of the Ox.
Birthstone
The birthstone for May is Emerald.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 19 May 1961 was Waxing Crescent.

On this day: 19 May

  • 1959 The North Vietnamese Army establishes Group 559, whose responsibility is to determine how to maintain supply lines to South Vietnam; the resulting route is the Ho Chi Minh trail.
  • 1961 Venera program: Venera 1 becomes the first man-made object to fly by another planet by passing Venus (the probe had lost contact with Earth a month earlier and did not send back any data).
  • 1962 A birthday salute to U.S. President John F. Kennedy takes place at Madison Square Garden, New York City. The highlight is Marilyn Monroe's rendition of "Happy Birthday".
  • 1963 The New York Post Sunday Magazine publishes Martin Luther King Jr.'s Letter from Birmingham Jail.
  • 1971 Mars probe program: Mars 2 is launched by the Soviet Union.

Famous people born on 19 May

  • Malcolm X, American minister and activist (1925–1965)
  • Lainey Wilson, American singer-songwriter (born 1992)
  • Archie Manning, American football player (born 1949)
  • Dusty Hill, American singer-songwriter and bass player (1949–2021)

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

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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)

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