At A Glance

5 October 1961 at a glance

Day of the week
5 October 1961 was a Thursday.
Billboard Hot 100 No. 1
The Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 was “Take Good Care of My Baby” by Bobby Vee.
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 5 October is Libra.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 5 October 1961 fell in the Year of the Ox.
Birthstone
The birthstone for October is Opal.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 5 October 1961 was Waning Crescent.

On this day: 5 October

  • 1962 The first of the James Bond film series, based on the novels by Ian Fleming, Dr. No, is released in Britain.
  • 1962 The first Beatles single "Love Me Do" is released in Britain.
  • 1963 The United States suspends the Commercial Import Program in response to repression of the Buddhist majority by the regime of President Ngo Dinh Diem.
  • 1966 A reactor at the Enrico Fermi Nuclear Generating Station near Detroit suffers a partial meltdown.
  • 1968 A Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association march in Derry is violently suppressed by police.

Famous people born on October 5

  • Travis Kelce, American football player (born 1989)
  • Imran Khan, Pakistani cricketer and politician, 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan (born 1952)
  • Kate Winslet, English actress (born 1975)
  • Jacob Tremblay, Canadian actor (born 2006)

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Choose your country: the charts, news and leaders change to match.

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

Browse by Year

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)

About The Day You Were Born

Ever wondered what was happening in the world when you took your first breath? Our birthday lookup tool reveals the fascinating history of your special day.

About The Birthday Chronicle and where our data comes from →