At A Glance

4 May 1961 at a glance

Day of the week
4 May 1961 was a Thursday.
UK Number One
The UK Number One single was “Blue Moon” by The Marcels.
Top Film of 1961
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1961 was One Hundred and One Dalmatians.
Star sign
The star sign for 4 May is Taurus.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 4 May 1961 fell in the Year of the Ox.
Birthstone
The birthstone for May is Emerald.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 4 May 1961 was Waning Gibbous.

On this day: 4 May

  • 1953 Ernest Hemingway wins the Pulitzer Prize for The Old Man and the Sea.
  • 1959 The 1st Annual Grammy Awards are held.
  • 1961 American civil rights movement: The "Freedom Riders" begin a bus trip through the South.
  • 1961 Malcolm Ross and Victor Prather attain a new altitude record for manned balloon flight ascending in the Strato-Lab V open gondola to 113,740 feet (34.67 km).
  • 1972 The Don't Make A Wave Committee, a fledgling environmental organization founded in Canada in 1971, officially changes its name to Greenpeace Foundation.

Famous people born on 4 May

  • Audrey Hepburn, Belgian-British actress and humanitarian (1929–1993)
  • Katherine Jackson, matriarch of the Jackson family (born 1930)
  • Will Arnett, Canadian actor and producer (born 1970)
  • Cesc Fàbregas, Spanish footballer and manager (born 1987)

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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