At A Glance

16 November 1961 at a glance

Day of the week
16 November 1961 was a Thursday.
Billboard Hot 100 No. 1
The Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 was “Big Bad John” by Jimmy Dean.
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 16 November is Scorpio.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 16 November 1961 fell in the Year of the Ox.
Birthstone
The birthstone for November is Topaz.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 16 November 1961 was Waxing Gibbous.

On this day: 16 November

  • 1965 Venera program: The Soviet Union launches the Venera 3 space probe toward Venus, which will be the first spacecraft to reach the surface of another planet.
  • 1966 The Temptations release their Greatest Hits album, which goes on to be the Billboard Year-End R&B album of 1967.
  • 1973 Skylab program: NASA launches Skylab 4 with a crew of three astronauts from Cape Canaveral, Florida for an 84-day mission.
  • 1973 U.S. president Richard Nixon signs the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act into law, authorizing the construction of the Alaska Pipeline.
  • 1974 The Arecibo message is broadcast from Puerto Rico.

Famous people born on November 16

  • Bruno Guimarães, Brazilian footballer (born 1997)
  • Tiberius, Roman emperor (born -42)
  • Bonnie Greer, American-English playwright and critic (1948–2026)
  • Burgess Meredith, American actor, singer, director, producer, and screenwriter (1907–1997)

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

Or

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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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