At A Glance

12 February 1961 at a glance

Day of the week
12 February 1961 was a Sunday.
Top Film of 1961
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1961 was One Hundred and One Dalmatians.
Star sign
The star sign for 12 February is Aquarius.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 12 February 1961 fell in the Year of the Rat.
Birthstone
The birthstone for February is Amethyst.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 12 February 1961 was Waning Crescent.

On this day: 12 February

  • 1947 The largest observed iron meteorite until that time creates an impact crater in Sikhote-Alin, in the Soviet Union.
  • 1961 The Soviet Union launches Venera 1 towards Venus.
  • 1963 Construction begins on the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri.
  • 1965 Malcolm X visits Smethwick near Birmingham following the racially-charged 1964 United Kingdom general election.
  • 1974 Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1970, is exiled from the Soviet Union.

Famous people born on 12 February

  • Abraham Lincoln, American lawyer and statesman, 16th President of the United States (1809–1865)
  • Josh Brolin, American actor (born 1968)
  • Michael McDonald, American singer-songwriter and keyboard player (born 1952)
  • Christina Ricci, American actress and producer (born 1980)

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Choose your country: the charts, news and leaders change to match.

Events of 1961 in Ireland

A selection from Wikipedia's '1961 in Ireland'. Not a complete list.

  • 6 January – Lieutenant-General Seán Mac Eoin left Dublin for the Congo to take up his new post as General Commanding Officer of the United Nations.
  • 9 April – The national census showed that County Cork's population had reached an all-time low, with just 330,000 (in the late 1950s it was 336,000).
  • 10 June – President Éamon de Valera and his wife Sinéad greeted Prince Rainier and Princess Grace of Monaco at the presidential residence, Áras an Uachtaráin. It was the first official visit to Ireland by a head of state after it became an independent republic.

Life in Ireland in 1961

Taoiseach

Seán Lemass

Petrol (per litre)

2s 6d/gal

Loaf of Bread

8d

Average House

£2,400

Weekly Wage

£5 15s

Or

Browse by Year

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)

About The Day You Were Born

Ever wondered what was happening in the world when you took your first breath? Our birthday lookup tool reveals the fascinating history of your special day.

About The Birthday Chronicle and where our data comes from →