At A Glance

17 February 1961 at a glance

Day of the week
17 February 1961 was a Friday.
Billboard Hot 100 No. 1
The Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 was “Calcutta” by Lawrence Welk.
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 17 February is Aquarius.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 17 February 1961 fell in the Year of the Ox.
Birthstone
The birthstone for February is Amethyst.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 17 February 1961 was Waxing Crescent.

On this day: 17 February

  • 1959 Project Vanguard: Vanguard 2: The first weather satellite is launched to measure cloud-cover distribution.
  • 1964 In Wesberry v. Sanders the Supreme Court of the United States rules that congressional districts have to be approximately equal in population.
  • 1964 Gabonese president Léon M'ba is toppled by a coup and his rival, Jean-Hilaire Aubame, is installed in his place.
  • 1965 Project Ranger: The Ranger 8 probe launches on its mission to photograph the Mare Tranquillitatis region of the Moon in preparation for the crewed Apollo missions. Mare Tranquillitatis or the "Sea of Tranquility" would become the site chosen for the Apollo 11 lunar landing.
  • 1972 Cumulative sales of the Volkswagen Beetle exceed those of the Ford Model T.

Famous people born on February 17

  • Case Keenum, American football player (born 1988)
  • Ed Sheeran, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (born 1991)
  • Michael Jordan, American basketball player, executive, and businessman (born 1963)
  • Jensen Huang, Taiwanese-American businessman, co-founded Nvidia (born 1963)

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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