At A Glance

19 May 1961 at a glance

Day of the week
19 May 1961 was a Friday.
Billboard Hot 100 No. 1
The Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 was “Runaway” by Del Shannon.
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 19 May is Taurus.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 19 May 1961 fell in the Year of the Ox.
Birthstone
The birthstone for May is Emerald.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 19 May 1961 was Waxing Crescent.

On this day: 19 May

  • 1959 The North Vietnamese Army establishes Group 559, whose responsibility is to determine how to maintain supply lines to South Vietnam; the resulting route is the Ho Chi Minh trail.
  • 1961 Venera program: Venera 1 becomes the first man-made object to fly by another planet by passing Venus (the probe had lost contact with Earth a month earlier and did not send back any data).
  • 1962 A birthday salute to U.S. President John F. Kennedy takes place at Madison Square Garden, New York City. The highlight is Marilyn Monroe's rendition of "Happy Birthday".
  • 1963 The New York Post Sunday Magazine publishes Martin Luther King Jr.'s Letter from Birmingham Jail.
  • 1971 Mars probe program: Mars 2 is launched by the Soviet Union.

Famous people born on May 19

  • Malcolm X, American minister and activist (1925–1965)
  • Lainey Wilson, American singer-songwriter (born 1992)
  • Archie Manning, American football player (born 1949)
  • Dusty Hill, American singer-songwriter and bass player (1949–2021)

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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