At A Glance

3 December 1961 at a glance

Day of the week
3 December 1961 was a Sunday.
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 3 December is Sagittarius.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 3 December 1961 fell in the Year of the Ox.
Birthstone
The birthstone for December is Turquoise.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 3 December 1961 was Waning Crescent.

On this day: 3 December

  • 1954 Väinö Linna's war novel The Unknown Soldier (Tuntematon sotilas) is published.
  • 1959 The current flag of Singapore is adopted, six months after Singapore became self-governing within the British Empire.
  • 1960 The musical Camelot debuts at the Majestic Theatre on Broadway. It will become associated with the Kennedy administration.
  • 1967 At Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa, a transplant team headed by Christiaan Barnard carries out the first heart transplant on a human (53-year-old Louis Washkansky).
  • 1971 Indo-Pakistani War of 1971: Pakistan launches a pre-emptive strike against India and a full-scale war begins.

Famous people born on December 3

  • Jenna Dewan, American actress and dancer (born 1980)
  • Amanda Seyfried, American actress (born 1985)
  • Ozzy Osbourne, English singer-songwriter (1948–2025)
  • Brendan Fraser, American actor and producer (born 1968)

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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