At A Glance
8 August 1961 at a glance
- Day of the week
- 8 August 1961 was a Tuesday.
- 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 8 August is Leo.
- Chinese zodiac
- In the Chinese zodiac, 8 August 1961 fell in the Year of the Ox.
- Birthstone
- The birthstone for August is Peridot.
- Moon phase
- The moon phase on 8 August 1961 was Waning Crescent.
On this day: 8 August
- 1963 Great Train Robbery: In England, a gang of 15 train robbers steal £2.6 million in bank notes.
- 1963 The Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU), the current ruling party of Zimbabwe, is formed by a split from the Zimbabwe African People's Union.
- 1967 The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is founded by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.
- 1969 At a zebra crossing in London, photographer Iain Macmillan takes the iconic photo that becomes the cover image of the Beatles' album Abbey Road.
- 1974 President Richard Nixon, in a nationwide television address, announces his resignation from the office of the President of the United States effective noon the next day.
Famous people born on August 8
- Ryan Garcia, American boxer (born 1998)
- Roger Federer, Swiss tennis player (born 1981)
- Dustin Hoffman, American actor and director (born 1937)
- A'ja Wilson, American basketball player (born 1996)
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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