At A Glance

22 May 1961 at a glance

Day of the week
22 May 1961 was a Monday.
Billboard Hot 100 No. 1
The Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 was “Mother-in-Law” by Ernie K-Doe.
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 22 May is Gemini.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 22 May 1961 fell in the Year of the Ox.
Birthstone
The birthstone for May is Emerald.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 22 May 1961 was First Quarter.

On this day: 22 May

  • 1957 South Africa's government approves of racial separation in universities.
  • 1960 The Great Chilean earthquake, measuring 9.5 on the moment magnitude scale, hits southern Chile, becoming the most powerful earthquake ever recorded.
  • 1964 U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson launches his Great Society program.
  • 1967 Egypt closes the Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping.
  • 1968 The nuclear-powered submarine USS Scorpion sinks with 99 men aboard, 400 nautical miles (740 km) southwest of the Azores.

Famous people born on May 22

  • Novak Djokovic, Serbian tennis player (born 1987)
  • Tommy John, American baseball player (1943–2026)
  • Katie Price, English television personality and glamour model (born 1978)
  • Morrissey, English singer-songwriter and performer (born 1959)

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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