At A Glance

12 August 1961 at a glance

Day of the week
12 August 1961 was a Saturday.
Billboard Hot 100 No. 1
The Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 was “Tossin' and Turnin'” by Bobby Lewis.
Top Film of 1961
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1961 was One Hundred and One Dalmatians.
Bestselling Novel of 1961
“The Agony and the Ecstasy” by Irving Stone was No. 1 on Publishers Weekly's US fiction list for 1961.
Top-Rated TV Show
“Wagon Train” (NBC) was No. 1 in the Nielsen ratings for the 1961–62 season.
Star sign
The star sign for 12 August is Leo.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 12 August 1961 fell in the Year of the Ox.
Birthstone
The birthstone for August is Peridot.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 12 August 1961 was New Moon.

On this day: 12 August

  • 1944 World War II: Alençon is liberated by General Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque, becoming the first city in France to be liberated from the Nazis by French forces.
  • 1960 Echo 1A, NASA's first successful communications satellite, is launched.
  • 1964 South Africa is banned from the Olympic Games due to the country's racist policies.
  • 1977 The first free flight of the Space Shuttle Enterprise.
  • 1981 The IBM Personal Computer is released.

Famous people born on August 12

  • Porter Wagoner, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (1927–2007)
  • Peter Krause, American actor (born 1965)
  • George IV (1762–1830)
  • Casey Affleck, American actor (born 1975)

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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Events of 1961 in the United States

A selection from Wikipedia's '1961 in the United States'. Not a complete list.

  • January 25 – Disney's animated film, One Hundred and One Dalmatians, is released. Its financial success pulling the studio out of another financial slump from the initial underperformance of Sleeping Beauty.
  • February 14 – Discovery of the chemical elements: Element 103, Lawrencium, is first synthesized in Berkeley, California.
  • March 1 – President of the United States John F. Kennedy establishes the Peace Corps.
More events of 1961 →Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Life in the US in 1961

President

John F. Kennedy

Gas (per gallon)

$0.31

Loaf of Bread

$0.21

Average House

$12,500

Weekly Wage

$89

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Famous Faces Born in the 1960s

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

Jeff Bezos12 January 1964Business magnateView their day →Sandra Bullock26 July 1964Actress & film producerView their day →Matthew McConaughey4 November 1969ActorView their day →Cindy Crawford20 February 1966ModelView their day →Tom Cruise3 July 1962Actor & film producerView their day →Nicole Kidman20 June 1967Actress & producerView their day →Woody Harrelson23 July 1961ActorView their day →Kyle Chandler17 September 1965ActorView their day →

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

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