UK, 
US, 
Australia & 
IrelandAt A Glance
5 August 1961 at a glance
- Day of the week
- 5 August 1961 was a Saturday.
- UK Number One
- The UK Number One single was “You Don't Know” by Helen Shapiro.
- Top Film of 1961
- The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1961 was One Hundred and One Dalmatians.
- Star sign
- The star sign for 5 August is Leo.
- Chinese zodiac
- In the Chinese zodiac, 5 August 1961 fell in the Year of the Ox.
- Birthstone
- The birthstone for August is Peridot.
- Moon phase
- The moon phase on 5 August 1961 was Waning Crescent.
On this day: 5 August
- 1957 American Bandstand, a show dedicated to the teenage "baby-boomers" by playing the songs and showing popular dances of the time, debuts on the ABC television network.
- 1960 Burkina Faso, then known as Upper Volta, becomes independent from France.
- 1962 Apartheid: Nelson Mandela is jailed. He would not be released until 1990.
- 1963 Cold War: The United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union sign the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.
- 1965 The Indo-Pakistani war of 1965 begins as Pakistani soldiers cross the Line of Control dressed as locals.
Famous people born on 5 August
- James Gunn, American filmmaker (born 1966)
- Wendell Berry, American novelist, short story writer, poet, and essayist (1934–2026)
- Angry Anderson, Australian singer and actor (1947–2026)
- Neil Armstrong, American pilot, engineer, and astronaut, first man to walk on the Moon (1930–2012)
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)).
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
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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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