At A Glance

20 May 1961 at a glance

Day of the week
20 May 1961 was a Saturday.
UK Number One
The UK Number One single was “You're Driving Me Crazy” by The Temperance Seven.
Top Film of 1961
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1961 was One Hundred and One Dalmatians.
Star sign
The star sign for 20 May is Taurus.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 20 May 1961 fell in the Year of the Ox.
Birthstone
The birthstone for May is Emerald.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 20 May 1961 was Waxing Crescent.

On this day: 20 May

  • 1948 Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek wins the 1948 Republic of China presidential election and is sworn in as the first President of the Republic of China at Nanjing.
  • 1949 In the United States, the Armed Forces Security Agency, the predecessor to the National Security Agency, is established.
  • 1964 Discovery of the cosmic microwave background radiation by Robert Woodrow Wilson and Arno Penzias.
  • 1967 The Popular Movement of the Revolution political party is established in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
  • 1969 The Battle of Hamburger Hill in Vietnam ends.

Famous people born on 20 May

  • Enes Kanter Freedom, Turkish basketball player (born 1992)
  • Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer, English journalist and author (born 1964)
  • Cher, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress (born 1946)
  • Timothy Olyphant, American actor and producer (born 1968)

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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