At A Glance

1 December 1961 at a glance

Day of the week
1 December 1961 was a Friday.
UK Number One
The UK Number One single was “Tower of Strength” by Frankie Vaughan.
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 the United Kingdom

A selection from Wikipedia's '1961 in the United Kingdom'. Not a complete list.

  • 7 January – The Avengers television series first screened on ITV.
  • 15 March – The Jaguar E-Type, a sports car capable of reaching speeds of 150 mph, is launched as a two-seater roadster or 2+2 coupé (at the Geneva Motor Show). On 3 April it makes its racing debut by winning at Oulton Park.
  • 20 March – Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, becomes the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and its company the Royal Shakespeare Company (Peter Hall (director)).
More events of 1961 →Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Life in 1961

Prime Minister

Harold Macmillan

Monarch

Elizabeth II

Pint of Beer

11p

Loaf of Bread

7p

Average House

£2,670

Weekly Wage

£14.90

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.

Guy Ritchie10 September 1968FilmmakerView their day →Diana, Princess of Wales1 July 1961Member of the British royal familyView their day →Nigella Lawson6 January 1960Food writer & television cookView their day →Jason Statham26 July 1967ActorView their day →Catherine Zeta-Jones25 September 1969ActressView their day →Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer20 May 1964Peer & authorView their day →Kenneth Branagh10 December 1960Actor & filmmakerView their day →George Michael25 June 1963SingerView their day →

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

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