At A Glance
31 July 1961 at a glance
- Day of the week
- 31 July 1961 was a Monday.
- Billboard Hot 100 No. 1
- The Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 was “Tossin' and Turnin'” by Bobby Lewis.
- 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 31 July is Leo.
- Chinese zodiac
- In the Chinese zodiac, 31 July 1961 fell in the Year of the Ox.
- Birthstone
- The birthstone for July is Ruby.
- Moon phase
- The moon phase on 31 July 1961 was Waning Gibbous.
On this day: 31 July
- 1945 Pierre Laval, the fugitive former leader of Vichy France, surrenders to Allied soldiers in Austria.
- 1948 At Idlewild Field in New York, New York International Airport (later renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport) is dedicated.
- 1964 Ranger program: Ranger 7 sends back the first close-up photographs of the moon, with images 1,000 times clearer than anything ever seen from earth-bound telescopes.
- 1970 Black Tot Day: The last day of the officially sanctioned rum ration in the Royal Navy.
- 1971 Apollo program: The Apollo 15 astronauts become the first to ride in a lunar rover.
Famous people born on July 31
- J. K. Rowling, English author and film producer (born 1965)
- Mark Cuban, American businessman and television personality (born 1958)
- Emilia Fox, English actress (born 1974)
- Wesley Snipes, American actor and producer (born 1962)
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
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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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