At A Glance
14 October 1961 at a glance
- Day of the week
- 14 October 1961 was a Saturday.
- Billboard Hot 100 No. 1
- The Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 was “Hit the Road Jack” by Ray Charles.
- 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 14 October is Libra.
- Chinese zodiac
- In the Chinese zodiac, 14 October 1961 fell in the Year of the Ox.
- Birthstone
- The birthstone for October is Opal.
- Moon phase
- The moon phase on 14 October 1961 was Waxing Crescent.
On this day: 14 October
- 1957 The 23rd Canadian Parliament becomes the only one to be personally opened by the Queen of Canada.
- 1962 The Cuban Missile Crisis begins when an American reconnaissance aircraft takes photographs of Soviet ballistic missiles being installed in Cuba.
- 1964 Martin Luther King Jr. receives the Nobel Peace Prize for combating racial inequality through nonviolence.
- 1964 The Soviet Presidium and the Communist Party Central Committee each vote to accept Nikita Khrushchev's "voluntary" request to retire from his offices.
- 1966 The city of Montreal begins the operation of its underground Montreal Metro rapid transit system.
Famous people born on October 14
- Charlie Kirk, American media personality and political activist (1993–2025)
- Dwight D. Eisenhower, American general and politician, 34th President of the United States (1890–1969)
- James II of England (1633–1701)
- Roger Moore, English actor and producer (1927–2017)
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.
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.
Sources: Wikidata and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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