At A Glance

20 January 1961 at a glance

Day of the week
20 January 1961 was a Friday.
Billboard Hot 100 No. 1
The Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 was “Wonderland by Night” by Bert Kaempfert.
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 20 January is Aquarius.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 20 January 1961 fell in the Year of the Rat.
Birthstone
The birthstone for January is Garnet.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 20 January 1961 was Waxing Crescent.

On this day: 20 January

  • 1945 World War II: The provisional government of Béla Miklós in Hungary agrees to an armistice with the Allies.
  • 1945 World War II: Germany begins the evacuation of 1.8 million people from East Prussia, a task which will take nearly two months.
  • 1954 In the United States, the National Negro Network is established with 40 charter member radio stations.
  • 1972 Pakistan launches its nuclear weapons program, a few weeks after its defeat in the Bangladesh Liberation War, as well as the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.
  • 1974 China gains control over all the Paracel Islands after a military engagement between the naval forces of China and South Vietnam.

Famous people born on January 20

  • J. J. McCarthy, American football player (born 2003)
  • David Lynch, American director, producer, and screenwriter (1946–2025)
  • Evan Peters, American actor (born 1987)
  • Sid Wilson, American musician (born 1977)

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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