At A Glance

20 July 1961 at a glance

Day of the week
20 July 1961 was a Thursday.
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 July is Cancer.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 20 July 1961 fell in the Year of the Ox.
Birthstone
The birthstone for July is Ruby.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 20 July 1961 was First Quarter.

On this day: 20 July

  • 1954 Germany: Otto John, head of West Germany's secret service, defects to East Germany.
  • 1960 The Polaris missile is successfully launched from a submarine, the USS George Washington, for the first time.
  • 1961 French military forces break the Tunisian siege of Bizerte.
  • 1968 The first International Special Olympics Summer Games are held at Soldier Field in Chicago, with about 1,000 athletes with intellectual disabilities.
  • 1969 Apollo program: Apollo 11's crew successfully makes the first human landing on the Moon in the Sea of Tranquility. Americans Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin become the first humans to walk on the Moon six and a half hours later.

Famous people born on 20 July

  • Haakon VIII (born 1973)
  • Chris Cornell, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (1964–2017)
  • Julianne Hough, American singer-songwriter, actress, and dancer (born 1988)
  • Natalie Wood, American actress (1938–1981)

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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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.
More events of 1961 →Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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

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Famous Faces Born in the 1960s

Well-known people born in the same decade as you, not on your birthday.

Sinéad O'Connor8 December 1966Singer-songwriterView their day →Bono10 May 1960SingerView their day →Enya17 May 1961SingerView their day →Aidan Gillen24 April 1968ActorView their day →Graham Linehan22 May 1968Comedy writerView their day →Graham Norton4 April 1963Comedian & actorView their day →The Edge8 August 1961Rock musician & guitar player of U2View their day →Ali Hewson23 March 1961Activist & businesswomanView their day →

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

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