September 1961
Encyclopedia
January
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The following events occurred in September 1961.
January 1961
January – February – March. – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November – DecemberThe following events occurred in January 1961.-January 1, 1961 :...
– February
February 1961
January – February – March. – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November-DecemberThe following events occurred in February, 1961-February 1, 1961 :...
– March
March 1961
January – February – March – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November - DecemberThe following events occurred in March, 1961-March 1, 1961 :...
– April
April 1961
January – February – March – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November – DecemberThe following events occurred in April, 1961-April 1, 1961 :...
– May
May 1961
January – February – March – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November – DecemberThe following events occurred in May 1961.-May 1, 1961 :...
– June
June 1961
January – February – March – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November – DecemberThe following events occurred in June 1961.-June 1, 1961 :...
– July
July 1961
January – February – March – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November – DecemberThe following events occurred in July 1961.-July 1, 1961 :...
– August
August 1961
January – February – March – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November – DecemberThe following events occurred in August 1961.-August 1, 1961 :...
– September – October
October 1961
January – February – March – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November – DecemberThe following events occurred in October 1961:-October 1, 1961 :...
– November
November 1961
January – February – March – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November-DecemberThe following events occurred in November 1961.-November 1, 1961 :...
– December
December 1961
January – February – March – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November – DecemberThe following events occurred in December 1961:-December 1, 1961 :...
The following events occurred in September 1961.
September 1, 1961 (Friday)
- The Soviet Union resumed nuclear testing after a moratoriumMoratoriumMoratorium may refer to:*Moratorium *Moratorium *Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam*UN moratorium on the death penalty*2010 U.S. Deepwater Drilling Moratorium...
of three years. Neither the U.S. nor the U.S.S.R. had exploded a nuclear bomb since 1958. The Soviets exploded 45 bombs over 65 days. - The Eritrean War of IndependenceEritrean War of IndependenceThe Eritrean War of Independence was a conflict fought between the Ethiopian government and Eritrean separatists, both before and during the Ethiopian Civil War. The war started when Eritrea’s autonomy within Ethiopia, where troops were already stationed, was unilaterally revoked...
began. The first shot was fired by an Eritrean Liberation FrontEritrean Liberation FrontThe Eritrean Liberation Front was the main independence movement in Eritrea which sought Eritrea's independence from Ethiopia during the 1960s and 1970s. In the very late 1950s unorganized political movement seeking independence was secretly active as small cells...
member Hamid Idris AwateHamid Idris AwateHamid Idris Awate was an Eritrean independence leader and the creator of the Eritrean Liberation Army .-Early Life:...
, leader of a group of 11 fighters, against Ethiopian government forces at the Barka district. Awate would be killed in 1962, but the ELF would continue to gather members. - TWA Flight 529TWA Flight 529TWA Flight 529 was a Lockheed Constellation L-049 propliner, registration N86511, operating as a scheduled passenger service from Boston, Massachusetts to San Francisco, California...
crashed at 2:05 am local time shortly after taking off from Chicago's Midway AirportMidway AirportChicago Midway International Airport , also known simply as Midway Airport or Midway, is an airport in Chicago, Illinois, United States, located on the city's southwest side, eight miles from Chicago's Loop...
. The Constellation airplane impacted in a cornfield near Hinsdale, IllinoisHinsdale, IllinoisHinsdale is a suburb of Chicago, Illinois; it is located partly in Cook County and mainly in DuPage County in the U.S. state of Illinois. The population was 17,349 at the 2000 census. The town's ZIP code is 60521. The town has a rolling, wooded topography, with a quaint downtown and is a 30-minute...
, killing all 78 persons on board. At the time, it was the worst single plane disaster in American history. A later investigation concluded that the accident happened after a bolt fell off of the elevator boost systemElevator (aircraft)Elevators are flight control surfaces, usually at the rear of an aircraft, which control the aircraft's orientation by changing the pitch of the aircraft, and so also the angle of attack of the wing. In simplified terms, they make the aircraft nose-up or nose-down...
, causing the plane to suddenly pitch upward and stall. - The first meeting of the Non-Aligned MovementNon-Aligned MovementThe Non-Aligned Movement is a group of states considering themselves not aligned formally with or against any major power bloc. As of 2011, the movement had 120 members and 17 observer countries...
took place in BelgradeBelgradeBelgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
as the leaders of 24 nations, aligned to neither the U.S. nor the U.S.S.R., gathered for a five-day conference hosted by Yugoslavia's President Josip Broz Tito. - The Jülich radio transmitter was handed over to the Deutsche BundespostDeutsche BundespostThe Deutsche Bundespost was created in 1947 as a successor to the Reichspost . Between 1947 and 1950 the enterprise was called Deutsche Post...
(German Federal Post) to establish the German foreign broadcasting service, "Deutsche WelleDeutsche WelleDeutsche Welle or DW, is Germany's international broadcaster. The service is aimed at the overseas market. It broadcasts news and information on shortwave, Internet and satellite radio on 98.7 DZFE in 30 languages . It has a satellite television service , that is available in four languages, and...
". - The Federation of MalayaFederation of MalayaThe Federation of Malaya is the name given to a federation of 11 states that existed from 31 January 1948 until 16 September 1963. The Federation became independent on 31 August 1957...
signed an agreement giving Singapore the right to draw up to gallons of water per day collectively from the Tebrau River, the Scudai River, the Pontian Reservoir, and the Gunung Pulai Reservoir, until 2011. - Born: Dee Dee MyersDee Dee MyersDee Dee Myers served as White House Press Secretary for the first two years of the Clinton administration, from January 20, 1993 to December 22, 1994.-Early life and education:...
, first woman to serve as the White House Press SecretaryWhite House Press SecretaryThe White House Press Secretary is a senior White House official whose primary responsibility is to act as spokesperson for the government administration....
(1993–94), in Quonset Point, Rhode Island; and Kateryna Yushchenko, American-born First Lady of Ukraine from 2005 to 2010 as wife of Ukraine President Viktor YushchenkoViktor YushchenkoViktor Andriyovych Yushchenko is a former President of Ukraine. He took office on January 23, 2005, following a period of popular unrest known as the Orange Revolution...
, in ChicagoChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles... - Died: William Z. FosterWilliam Z. FosterWilliam Foster was a radical American labor organizer and Marxist politician, whose career included a lengthy stint as General Secretary of the Communist Party USA...
, 80, former General Secretary of the Communist Party USACommunist Party USAThe Communist Party USA is a Marxist political party in the United States, established in 1919. It has a long, complex history that is closely related to the histories of similar communist parties worldwide and the U.S. labor movement....
from 1924 to 1957. In the 1932 U.S. presidential electionUnited States presidential election, 1932The United States presidential election of 1932 took place as the effects of the Wall Street Crash of 1929, the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930, the Revenue Act of 1932, and the Great Depression were being felt intensely across the country. President Herbert Hoover's popularity was falling as...
, Foster received 103,307 votes. Foster had been hospitalized in Moscow at the time of his death. - Died: Eero SaarinenEero SaarinenEero Saarinen was a Finnish American architect and industrial designer of the 20th century famous for varying his style according to the demands of the project: simple, sweeping, arching structural curves or machine-like rationalism.-Biography:Eero Saarinen shared the same birthday as his father,...
, 51, Finnish architect and designer
September 2, 1961 (Saturday)
- Meeting in BrasiliaBrasíliaBrasília is the capital city of Brazil. The name is commonly spelled Brasilia in English. The city and its District are located in the Central-West region of the country, along a plateau known as Planalto Central. It has a population of about 2,557,000 as of the 2008 IBGE estimate, making it the...
, BrazilBrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
's Chamber of Deputies voted 233-55 to amend that nation's constitution to create a parliamentary system of government, to provide for a Prime Minister of BrazilPrime Minister of BrazilDuring two periods in the political history of Brazil was a parliamentary system of Government put in place, with a prime minister heading the Cabinet....
, and to weaken the powers of the PresidentPresident of BrazilThe president of Brazil is both the head of state and head of government of the Federative Republic of Brazil. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the Brazilian Armed Forces...
to no more than a figureheadFigureheadA figurehead is a carved wooden decoration found at the prow of ships largely made between the 16th and 19th century.-History:Although earlier ships had often had some form of bow ornamentation A figurehead is a carved wooden decoration found at the prow of ships largely made between the 16th and...
. The vote took place after an all-night debate, in that the ruling military junta refused to allow Vice-President João GoulartJoão GoulartJoão Belchior Marques Goulart was a Brazilian politician and the 24th President of Brazil until a military coup d'état deposed him on April 1, 1964. He is considered to have been the last left-wing President of the country until Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took office in 2003.-Name:João Goulart is...
, believed to be a leftist, to succeed recently resigned President Janio QuadrosJânio QuadrosJânio da Silva Quadros , , was a Brazilian politician who served as President of Brazil for only 7 months in 1961.-Career:...
. The parliamentary system of Brazilian government, unique in South America, lasted for 16 months until abolished in a plebiscite in 1963. - Bangladesh Agricultural UniversityBangladesh Agricultural UniversityBangladesh Agricultural University or BAU was established as the only university of its kind in Bangladesh in 1961. The scheme for the establishment of BAU was finalized on 8 June 1961 and its ordinance was promulgated on 18 August 1961...
was formally created as East PakistanEast PakistanEast Pakistan was a provincial state of Pakistan established in 14 August 1947. The provincial state existed until its declaration of independence on 26 March 1971 as the independent nation of Bangladesh. Pakistan recognized the new nation on 16 December 1971. East Pakistan was created from Bengal...
Agricultural University, with a College of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry at MymensinghMymensinghMymensingh , pronounced moy-mon-shing-haw, is a city of Bangladesh situated on the river Brahmaputra. It is the headquarters of the administrative unit Mymensingh District. Mymensingh is the anglicized pronunciation of the original name Momenshahi, referring to a ruler called Momen Shah. The cadet...
. - Born: Christina Saunders of Lincoln England..
September 3, 1961 (Sunday)
- The minimum wage in the United StatesMinimum wage in the United States, the federal minimum wage in the United States is $7.25 per hour. Some states and municipalities have set minimum wages higher than the federal level , with the highest state minimum wage being $8.67 in Washington. Some U.S. territories are exempt...
was raised to $1.15 an hour. All covered persons hired on or after that date would still receive the previous minimum of $1.00 an hour. Minimum wage 50 years later would be $7.25 an hour. - United Kingdom Prime Minister Harold MacmillanHarold MacmillanMaurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, OM, PC was Conservative Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 January 1957 to 18 October 1963....
and United States President John F. KennedyJohn F. KennedyJohn Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
issued a joint proposal to Soviet Premier Nikita KhrushchevNikita KhrushchevNikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...
, "that their three governments agree, effective immediately, not to conduct nulcear tests which take place in the atmosphere and produce radioactive fall-out", and dropping previous requests for inspection. Khrushchev rejected the proposal, but the U.S.A., U.S.S.R. and the U.K. would later sign the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty in 1963. - The Vencedor, a boat carrying more than 200 persons on a Sunday excursion to a festival in La Bocana, ColombiaColombiaColombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, sank off of the coast of Buenaventura, drowning an estimated 150 people. - The 1961 Australian Touring Car Championship1961 Australian Touring Car ChampionshipThe 1961 Australian Touring Car Championship was a CAMS sanctioned motor racing title for drivers of Appendix J Touring Cars. The championship, which was contested over a single 72 mile race staged at the Lowood circuit in Queensland on 3 September 1961, was the second running of the Australian...
was held at the Lowood circuitLowood circuitThe Lowood Airfield Circuit was a motor racing venue in Queensland, Australia which was used from 1946 to 1966. It was located at a former wartime airfield site at Mount Tarampa, near Lowood, 72 km west of the state capital Brisbane...
in Queensland. - Died: Robert Gross, 64, founder of Lockheed CorporationLockheed CorporationThe Lockheed Corporation was an American aerospace company. Lockheed was founded in 1912 and later merged with Martin Marietta to form Lockheed Martin in 1995.-Origins:...
- Died: Richard MasonJohn Hemming (explorer)Dr John Hemming, CMG is a Canadian explorer and author, expert on Incas and indigenous peoples of Amazonia.-Biography:Hemming was born in Vancouver because his Canadian father, Henry Harold Hemming OBE, MC, had been through the trenches in the First World War, saw the Second coming, and wanted him...
, 26, British explorer who had been leading the 10-man Iriri RiverIriri RiverThe Iriri River is a tributary of the Xingu River in Brazil, in the state of Pará. It is long making it the 116th longest river in the world and the 15th longest in the Amazon Basin. The headwaters are the traditional home of the Panará people....
Expedition in Central Brazil. While returning to the base camp in the Amazon jungle, 20 miles from Cachimbo, Mason was ambushed by a hunting party of at least 15 members of the PanaráPanaráThe Panará are an Indigenous people of the Pará and Mato Grosso states in the Brazilian Amazon. They were formerly called the Kreen-Akrore. Other names for the Panará include Kreen-Akarore, Krenhakarore, Krenhakore, Krenakore, Krenakarore or Krenacarore, and "Índios Gigantes" – all variants of the...
tribe, who had had no previous contact with the outside world. In accordance with their customs, the Panará laid their weapons next to Mason's body— 15 clubs, and 40 "seven foot long bamboo arrows".
September 4, 1961 (Monday)
- The United States Agency for International DevelopmentUnited States Agency for International DevelopmentThe United States Agency for International Development is the United States federal government agency primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid. President John F. Kennedy created USAID in 1961 by executive order to implement development assistance programs in the areas...
(USAID) was authorized by the signing into law of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, which authorized the spending of $4,253,500,000 for economic development and non-military aid to foreign nations. USAID itself was established on November 3. - Richard M. Nixon, former U.S. Vice-President and future President of the United States, made a hole-in-one while playing golf at the Bel Air Country ClubBel Air Country ClubThe Bel Air Country Club is a social club located in Bel Air, Los Angeles, California. The property includes an 18-hole golf course and tennis courts.-History:...
, on the 155-yard third hole. Nixon remarked "It's the greatest thrill of my life. Even better than being elected." The only other U.S. President to accomplish the rare feat was Gerald R. Ford, who, like Nixon, aced within a year after losing a presidential election, on June 8, 1977. - Born: Cédric KlapischCédric KlapischCédric Klapisch , is a French film director.Klapisch was born at Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine. He is from a Jewish family; his maternal grandparents were deported to Auschwitz. He studied cinema at the University of Paris III: Sorbonne Nouvelle as well as at the University of Paris VIII...
, French film director, in Neuilly-sur-SeineNeuilly-sur-SeineNeuilly-sur-Seine is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.Although Neuilly is technically a suburb of Paris, it is immediately adjacent to the city and directly extends it. The area is composed of mostly wealthy, select residential... - Died: Charles D.B. King, 85, President of Liberia from 1920 to 1930; and Fanny Brin, 76, American activist for women's rights and world peace
September 5, 1961 (Tuesday)
- President Kennedy announced that the United States would end its own moratorium on nuclear testing after three years, stating "We have no other choice." The announcement followed the third atomic test in the Soviet Union in one week.
- Skyjacking, the act of hijacking an airplane, was made a federal crime by the United States, punishable by 20 years to life in prison, and, in some cases, execution. The law also provided a penalty of $1,000 for illegally carrying a concealed weapon onto an aircraft, and up to five years in prison for giving false information to investigators.
- Marxist Cheddi JaganCheddi JaganCheddi Berret Jagan was a Guyanese politician who was first elected Chief Minister in 1953 and later Premier of British Guiana from 1961 to 1964, prior to independence. He later served as President of Guyana from 1992 to 1997.- Biography :The son of ethnic Indian sugar plantation workers, Jagan...
was sworn in as the first Premier of British GuianaBritish GuianaBritish Guiana was the name of the British colony on the northern coast of South America, now the independent nation of Guyana.The area was originally settled by the Dutch at the start of the 17th century as the colonies of Essequibo, Demerara, and Berbice...
(now GuyanaGuyanaGuyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...
), after his Progressive Peoples Party won the nation's first general elections since Britain had allowed the colony internal self-government. - Phalsbourg-Bourscheid Air BasePhalsbourg-Bourscheid Air BasePhalsbourg-Bourscheid Air Base is a former United States Air Force base in France. It is located in the Moselle département, about 2 miles west of the town of Phalsbourg, on the north side of the Route nationale 4 Highway adjacent to the village Saint-Jean-Kourtzerode; 29 miles northwest of...
was reactivated by the United States in response to the Berlin CrisisBerlin Crisis of 1961The Berlin Crisis of 1961 was the last major politico-military European incident of the Cold War about the occupational status of the German capital city, Berlin, and of post–World War II Germany. The U.S.S.R...
. - Born: Marc-André HamelinMarc-André HamelinMarc-André Hamelin, OC, CQ, is a French Canadian virtuoso pianist and composer.Born in Montreal, Quebec, Marc-André Hamelin began his piano studies at the age of five. His father, a pharmacist by trade who was also a pianist, introduced him to the works of Alkan, Godowsky, and Sorabji when he was...
, Canadian pianist and composer, in Montreal
September 6, 1961 (Wednesday)
- AfghanistanAfghanistanAfghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
broke off diplomatic relations with its neighbor to the east, PakistanPakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. With the border closed at the time that the Afghans were preparing to ship their two major export crops (grapes and pomegranates) through Pakistan to India, the Soviet Union offered to ship the perishables by air. Relations were restored in May 1963, but Afghanistan had become dependent on the U.S.S.R. for aid. - The National Reconnaissance OfficeNational Reconnaissance OfficeThe National Reconnaissance Office , located in Chantilly, Virginia, is one of the 16 U.S. intelligence agencies. It designs, builds, and operates the spy satellites of the United States government.-Mission:...
began operations in Chantilly, VirginiaChantilly, VirginiaChantilly is an unincorporated community located in western Fairfax County and southeastern Loudoun County of Northern Virginia. Recognized by the U.S. Census Bureau as a census designated place , the community population was 23,039 as of the 2010 census -- down from 41,041 in 2000, due to the...
as a secret U.S. intelligence agency, jointly operated by the CIA and the U.S. Air Force to coordinate satellite surveillance. The existence of the NRO was not publicly revealed until 1992, after the end of the Cold War. - The Soviet Union began high-altitude nuclear tests, by launching two missiles from Kapustin YarKapustin YarKapustin Yar is a Russian rocket launch and development site in Astrakhan Oblast, between Volgograd and Astrakhan. Known today as Znamensk , it was established 13 May 1946 and in the beginning used technology, material, and scientific support from defeated Germany...
. A 10.5 kiloton weapon was exploded at an altitude of 14 miles, and a 40 kiloton weapon at 26 miles above the Earth. The United States had done similar testing in 1958. - A secured telephone line between the White HouseWhite HouseThe White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
in Washington DC, and the Admiralty House in London, was set up in order for the U.S. President and the British Prime Minister to communicate directly, in real time, with their conversations scrambledScramblerIn telecommunications, a scrambler is a device that transposes or inverts signals or otherwise encodes a message at the transmitter to make the message unintelligible at a receiver not equipped with an appropriately set descrambling device...
. President Kennedy and Prime Minister Macmillan used the line for the first time in October. - Born: Simon ReeveSimon Reeve (Australian television presenter)Simon Reeve is an Australian television presenter and host of many shows on the Seven Network. Reeve is currently the sports presenter on Weekend Sunrise, reporter on Sunrise, and the host of the children's quiz show It's Academic, as well as a fill-in presenter for Seven News.Simon commenced his...
, Australian television presenter
September 7, 1961 (Thursday)
- American comedian Jack PaarJack PaarJack Harold Paar was an author, American radio and television comedian and talk show host, best known for his stint as host of The Tonight Show from 1957 to 1962...
, host of The Tonight ShowThe Tonight ShowThe Tonight Show is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. It is the longest currently running regularly scheduled entertainment program in the United States, and the third longest-running show on NBC, after Meet the Press and Today.The Tonight Show has been hosted by...
on NBC television, taped part of his show in front of the Berlin WallBerlin WallThe Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin...
, bringing with him seven U.S. Army officers and another 50 soldiers, along with jeeps and guns. The incident outraged members of Congress and prompted an investigation by the U.S. Department of Defense. A lieutenant colonel was removed from command, and another colonel admonished, but both were cleared three weeks later after a later investigation "showed the two had done nothing wrong". The Tonight show broadcast on September 12, using the footage, was called by one critic "as dreary and dull as the Berlin weather". - Born: Lois-Ann YamanakaLois-Ann YamanakaLois-Ann Yamanaka is a Japanese-American poet and novelist from Hawaii. Many of her critically acclaimed literary works are written in Hawaiian Pidgin, and some of her writing has dealt with controversial ethnic issues...
, American poet who writes much of her poetry in Hawaiian PidginHawaiian PidginHawaii Pidgin English, Hawaii Creole English, HCE, or simply Pidgin, is a creole language based in part on English used by many "local" residents of Hawaii. Although English and Hawaiian are the co-official languages of the state of Hawaii, Pidgin is used by many Hawaii residents in everyday...
; in Ho'olehua, HawaiiHo'olehua, HawaiiHoolehua is an unincorporated community on the island of Molokai in Maui County, Hawaii, United States. It lies just off Hawaii Route 460, next to the Molokai Airport. Its elevation is 620 feet . Because the community's name has been spelled multiple ways, the Board on Geographic Names... - Died: Pieter Sjoerds GerbrandyPieter Sjoerds GerbrandyPieter Sjoerds Gerbrandy was a Dutch politician of the Anti Revolutionary Party . He served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from September 3, 1940 until June 24, 1945. He was the Prime Minister of the Dutch government in exile during World War II...
, 76, Dutch politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands 1940–45
September 8, 1961 (Friday)
- The first adventure of the space operaSpace operaSpace opera is a subgenre of science fiction that emphasizes romantic, often melodramatic adventure, set mainly or entirely in outer space, generally involving conflict between opponents possessing advanced technologies and abilities. The term has no relation to music and it is analogous to "soap...
series Perry RhodanPerry RhodanPerry Rhodan is the name of a science fiction series published since 1961 in Germany, as well as the name of the main character. It is a space opera, dealing with several themes of science fiction. Having sold over one billion copies worldwide, it is the most successful science fiction book series...
was introduced, as German authors K.H. Scheer and Walter Ernstein published Perry Rhodan, der Erbe des Universums (Perry Rhodan, the Heir of the Universe). By the end of the 20th Century, Rhodan had appeared in more than 2000 novels. - FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
's President Charles de GaulleCharles de GaulleCharles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....
escaped an assassination attempt as his limousine took him from Paris to his country home at Colombey-les-Deux-ÉglisesColombey-les-Deux-ÉglisesColombey-les-Deux-Églises is a commune in the Haute-Marne department in north-eastern France.The municipality Colombey-les-Deux-Eglises was created administratively in 1793, and it became part of the district of Chaumont and the canton Blaise. In 1801, under the name Colombey, it passed to the...
. A bomb with eight pounds of plastique had been placed on the President's route between the cities of Nogent-sur-SeineNogent-sur-SeineNogent-sur-Seine is a commune in the Aube department in north-central France.-Population:-Personalities:Camille Claudel lived in Nogent-sur-Seine with her family from 1876 to 1879....
and Romilly-sur-SeineRomilly-sur-SeineRomilly-sur-Seine is a commune in the Aube department in north-central France.-Population:-Twin towns:Romilly-sur-Seine is twinned with: Milford Haven, United Kingdom Gotha, Germany Lüdenscheid, Germany Medicina, Italy Uman, Ukraine-References:*...
, and an inflammable mixture exploded in flames as the car passed over. The plastique failed to detonate. There were as many as 30 attempts to kill de Gaulle, of which this attempt and an August 22, 1962, machine gunning of his limousine, came closest to success. After the 1962 attempt, de Gaulle pushed through major constitutional reforms to increase his power. - Cutervo National ParkCutervo National ParkCutervo National Park is the oldest National Park in Peru. It was established September 8, 1961 by means of Law N° 13964 by the Peruvian Government as the first protected natural area created. Its creator was Salomon Vilchez Murga , a recognized Biologist who was born in Cutervo, Peru. When...
was established as the first protected area in Peru, by Law #13964.
September 9, 1961 (Saturday)
- Helen NorthHelen BeardsleyHelen Eileen Beardsley was the mother of the famous blended family of twenty children — eight by her first marriage to Richard North, ten stepchildren from the first marriage of her second husband Frank Beardsley, and two that she and Frank had during their marriage...
, with 8 children, and U.S. Navy CPO Frank Beardsley, with 10 children, were married in Carmel, California. The Beardsleys then had two more children, and Mrs. Beardsley later wrote about the large family in the book Who Gets the Drumstick?, which was adapted into the 1968 film Yours, Mine and OursYours, Mine and Ours (1968 film)For the remake of this film starring Dennis Quaid and Rene Russo see Yours, Mine and Ours Yours, Mine and Ours is a 1968 film, directed by Melville Shavelson and starring Lucille Ball, Henry Fonda and Van Johnson...
, starring Lucille BallLucille BallLucille Désirée Ball was an American comedian, film, television, stage and radio actress, model, film and television executive, and star of the sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy and Life With Lucy...
and Henry FondaHenry FondaHenry Jaynes Fonda was an American film and stage actor.Fonda made his mark early as a Broadway actor. He also appeared in 1938 in plays performed in White Plains, New York, with Joan Tompkins...
as Mr. and Mrs. Beardsley. - USS Long BeachUSS Long Beach (CGN-9)USS Long Beach was a nuclear-powered guided missile cruiser in the United States Navy. She was the only ship of her class....
, a guided missile cruiser and the first nuclear-powered surface warship, was commissioned. - IraqIraqIraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
's Premier Abd al-Karim Qasim commenced aerial bombardment of Kurdish territoryIraqi KurdistanIraqi Kurdistan or Kurdistan Region is an autonomous region of Iraq. It borders Iran to the east, Turkey to the north, Syria to the west and the rest of Iraq to the south. The regional capital is Arbil, known in Kurdish as Hewlêr...
in the northern part of the nation. - During a visit to Lenin's Tomb in MoscowMoscowMoscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, a woman identified only as L.A. Smirnova broke the protective glass around Vladimir LeninVladimir LeninVladimir Ilyich Lenin was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and communist politician who led the October Revolution of 1917. As leader of the Bolsheviks, he headed the Soviet state during its initial years , as it fought to establish control of Russia in the Russian Civil War and worked to create a...
's sarcophagus, spat on his corpse, and yelled "Take that, you bastard!". The incident was not reported at the time, but found later in a declassified pretrial investigation by the KGB. - Steam locomotives were fully withdrawn from London UndergroundLondon UndergroundThe London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
passenger services when British Railways took over operations of the Metropolitan line. Steam locomotives were used for freight until 1971. - Died: Jesse Barnes, 69, American baseball pitcher
September 10, 1961 (Sunday)
- While driving a FerrariFerrariFerrari S.p.A. is an Italian sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1929, as Scuderia Ferrari, the company sponsored drivers and manufactured race cars before moving into production of street-legal vehicles as Ferrari S.p.A. in 1947...
during the F1 Italian Grand Prix1961 Italian Grand PrixThe 1961 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on 10 September 1961 at Monza.The race was marked by one of the most terrible accidents in the history of Formula One, when on the end of lap 2 at the approach to the Parabolica the German driver Wolfgang von Trips lost control of his Ferrari...
at MonzaAutodromo Nazionale MonzaThe Autodromo Nazionale Monza is a race track located near the town of Monza, north of Milan, in Italy. The circuit's biggest event is the Formula One Italian Grand Prix, which has been hosted there since the sport's inception....
, Germany's Wolfgang Von Trips, 33, crashed into the infield, killing 18 spectators and himself. Eleven bystanders died at the scene, while 7 more of the 26 injured died later. The crash happened on the second lap, when Von Trips was struck from behind by Jimmy Clark's Lotus. The race continued for the next two hours, with the bodies of the dead covered with newspapers, not moved until after the race's end. Prior to the final race of the season, Von Trips had been in the lead for the World Driving Championship. The race win, and the title, went instead to Phil Hill. - The crash of a chartered Presidential Airlines DC-6 killed all 83 persons on board, shortly after the plane took off from Shannon AirportShannon AirportShannon Airport, is one of the Republic of Ireland's three primary airports along with Dublin and Cork. In 2010 around 1,750,000 passengers passed through the airport, making it the third busiest airport in the Republic of Ireland after Dublin and Cork, and the fifth busiest airport on the island...
in IrelandIrelandIreland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. The passengers were mostly women and children of U.S. Army personnel, on their way back to the United States. - Bob HaywardBob HaywardRobert D. Hayward was a Canadian powerboat racer who was a three-time winner of the Harmsworth Cup as the pilot of Miss Supertest III....
, considered at the time the world's foremost hydroplane racer, was killed at the age of 33 while racing at the Silver Cup Regatta on the Detroit RiverDetroit RiverThe Detroit River is a strait in the Great Lakes system. The name comes from the French Rivière du Détroit, which translates literally as "River of the Strait". The Detroit River has served an important role in the history of Detroit and is one of the busiest waterways in the world. The river...
. Piloting the boat Miss Supertest IIMiss Supertest IIIMiss Supertest III was a Canadian-designed and built hydroplane that won the 1959 Detroit Memorial Regatta and the 1959, 1960 and 1961 Harmsworth Cup races -- the only four races it ever entered. It was the only three-time Harmsworth Cup winner and the first non-U.S. winner in 39 years.Racing out...
, Hayward was attempting to pass two other competitors as they approached a curve in the river, ran out of room, and turned hard right to avoid a collision. The hydroplane, going at 135 miles per hour, went out of control. Hayward, who had won the Harmsworth CupHarmsworth CupThe Harmsworth Trophy is the popular name of the historically important British International Trophy for Motorboats.The Harmsworth was the first annual international award for motorboat racing. Officially, it is a contest not between boats or individuals but between nations...
for Canada the month before, died instantly of a broken neck. - The Sainik School, KorukondaSainik School, KorukondaSainik School, Korukonda, India, informally began on 10 September 1961. The school was formally founded by its first principal, Commander T De Almeida, on 18 January 1962, when the first batch of 205 students had joined.- Overview :...
opened at the former Alak Appala Kondayamba Vijayaram Palace. - Born: Alberto Núñez FeijooAlberto Núñez FeijóoAlberto Núñez Feijóo is the 5th and current President of the Xunta of Galicia.Núñez Feijóo became president in April 2009 following the regional parliamentary elections held in Galicia the previous month....
, Galician politician, in Os Peares, Ourense, Spain
September 11, 1961 (Monday)
- The World Wildlife Fund (now referred to as the World Wide Fund for NatureWorld Wide Fund for NatureThe World Wide Fund for Nature is an international non-governmental organization working on issues regarding the conservation, research and restoration of the environment, formerly named the World Wildlife Fund, which remains its official name in Canada and the United States...
was founded, with the opening of an office in MorgesMorgesMorges is a municipality in the Swiss canton of Vaud, located in the district of Morges and is also the seat of the district.-History:...
, SwitzerlandSwitzerlandSwitzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, and with Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands serving as its first President. - Hurricane CarlaHurricane CarlaHurricane Carla was one of two Category 5 tropical cyclones during the 1961 Atlantic hurricane season. It struck the Texas coast as a Category 4 hurricane, becoming one of the most powerful storms to ever strike the United States. Hurricane Carla was the second most intense storm to ever...
struck Texas at 2:00 pm, with winds of 173 miles per hour (278 km/h). Coming as a Category 5 storm, Carla weakened just before landfall at Port O'ConnorPort O'Connor, TexasPort O'Connor is an unincorporated village in Calhoun County, Texas, United States, on the coastline between Galveston and Corpus Christi. The ZIP Code Tabulation Area including Port O'Connor had a population of 1,078 at the 2000 census...
and Port Lavaca, TexasPort Lavaca, TexasPort Lavaca is a city in Calhoun County, Texas, United States. The population was 12,248 at the 2010 census. The County had a 3.6% growth which brought the county population to 21,381. The city itself is bringing in more business into the area. It is the county seat of Calhoun County...
, the largest on record in the Atlantic basin at the time. Between 300,000 and 500,000 residents of Texas and Louisiana had fled the area in what was described at the time as "the greatest evacuation in U.S. history". - Norwegian parliamentary election, 1961Norwegian parliamentary election, 1961A general election was held to elect 150 MPs to the Norwegian parliament, the Storting.The Labour Party lost its absolute majority of seats that the party had held since 1945, winning 74 seats...
: In quadrennial voting for the 150 seats in the Storting, the Arbeiderpartiet (Labor Party) lost four seats and its majority, finishing with 74, but Prime Minister Einar GerhardsenEinar Gerhardsenwas a Norwegian politician from the Labour Party of Norway. He was Prime Minister for three periods, 1945–1951, 1955–1963 and 1963–1965. With 17 years in office, he is the longest serving Prime Minister in Norway since the introduction of parliamentarism...
was able to retain his office. - The Austrian television channel ORF2ORF2ORF2 is an Austrian television channel owned by ORF.ORF2 was launched on 11 September 1961 as a technical test programme. Since 1970, ORF2 broadcasts on seven days a week. Today it is one of the three public TV channels in Austria.Where as ORF1 focuses on tv series and movies, ORF2 broadcasts...
was launched under the name Versuchsprogramm, as a technical test programme. - In the Yukon general electionYukon general election, 1961The 1961 Yukon general election was held on 11 September 1961 to elect the seven members of the Yukon Territorial Council. The Council was non-partisan and had merely an advisory role to the federally-appointed Commissioner....
, seven members of the Yukon Territorial Council were elected to fulfil an advisory role to the federally appointed Commissioner. - Born: Virginia MadsenVirginia MadsenVirginia Madsen is an American actress and documentary film producer. She came to fame during the 1980s, having appeared in several films aimed at a teenage audience...
, American actress and film producer, in Chicago - Died: Leo CarrilloLeo CarrilloLeopoldo Antonio Carrillo , was an American actor, vaudevillian, political cartoonist, and conservationist.-Family roots:...
, 80, American actor best known for his role as Pancho on the television show The Cisco KidThe Cisco KidThe Cisco Kid refers to a character found in numerous film, radio, television and comic book series based on the fictional Western character created by O. Henry in his 1907 short story "The Caballero's Way", published in the collection Heart of the West...
September 12, 1961 (Tuesday)
- Arriving from Paris, Air France Flight 2005Air France Flight 2005Air France Flight 2005 of September 12, 1961 was a scheduled passenger service from Paris-Orly Airport to Casablanca airport with a stop at Rabat-Salé Airport...
crashed in fog on the approach to RabatRabatRabat , is the capital and third largest city of the Kingdom of Morocco with a population of approximately 650,000...
in MoroccoMoroccoMorocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
. All 77 people on board were killed. - The African and Malagasy Union, consisting of 12 French-speaking African nations that had signed an agreement at BrazzavilleBrazzaville-Transport:The city is home to Maya-Maya Airport and a railway station on the Congo-Ocean Railway. It is also an important river port, with ferries sailing to Kinshasa and to Bangui via Impfondo...
on December 19, 1960December 1960January – February – March – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November – DecemberThe following events occurred in December 1960:-December 1, 1960 :...
, came into existence. The initial members were CameroonCameroonCameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...
, the Central African RepublicCentral African RepublicThe Central African Republic , is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It borders Chad in the north, Sudan in the north east, South Sudan in the east, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo in the south, and Cameroon in the west. The CAR covers a land area of about ,...
, ChadChadChad , officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west...
, the Republic of the CongoRepublic of the CongoThe Republic of the Congo , sometimes known locally as Congo-Brazzaville, is a state in Central Africa. It is bordered by Gabon, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo , the Angolan exclave province of Cabinda, and the Gulf of Guinea.The region was dominated by...
("Congo-Brazzaville"), Dahomey (now BeninBeninBenin , officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It borders Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north. Its small southern coastline on the Bight of Benin is where a majority of the population is located...
), GabonGabonGabon , officially the Gabonese Republic is a state in west central Africa sharing borders with Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, and with the Republic of the Congo curving around the east and south. The Gulf of Guinea, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean is to the west...
, the Ivory Coast, MadagascarMadagascarThe Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
, MauritaniaMauritaniaMauritania is a country in the Maghreb and West Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean in the west, by Western Sahara in the north, by Algeria in the northeast, by Mali in the east and southeast, and by Senegal in the southwest...
, NigerNigerNiger , officially named the Republic of Niger, is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east...
, SenegalSenegalSenegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
and Upper Volta (now Burkina FasoBurkina FasoBurkina Faso – also known by its short-form name Burkina – is a landlocked country in west Africa. It is surrounded by six countries: Mali to the north, Niger to the east, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Côte d'Ivoire to the southwest.Its size is with an estimated...
). - János KádárJános KádárJános Kádár was a Hungarian communist leader and the General Secretary of the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party, presiding over the country from 1956 until his forced retirement in 1988. His thirty-two year term as General Secretary makes Kádár the longest ruler of the People's Republic of Hungary...
, General Secretary of the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party since 1956, became Prime Minister of Hungary for the second time in his career, replacing the elderly Ferenc MünnichFerenc MünnichFerenc Münnich was a Hungarian Communist politician who served as Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the People's Republic of Hungary from 1958 to 1961....
. Kádár would serve as Prime Minister until 1965, retaining the more powerful post as the Party General Secretary until 1988. - Frederick CollegeFrederick CollegeFrederick College is a defunct four-year private co-educational college formerly located in Portsmouth, Virginia. The school was created in through a grant from the Fred w. Beazley Foundation . It originally opened in 1958 as a two-year school on the grounds of a former munitions depot before...
, located in Portsmouth, VirginiaPortsmouth, VirginiaPortsmouth is located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2010, the city had a total population of 95,535.The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard, is a historic and active U.S...
, became a four year college, three years after starting in 1958 as a two-year school. The college closed its doors at the end of the 1967-68 academic year. - Five days before they were to report to Pensacola, FloridaPensacola, FloridaPensacola is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle and the county seat of Escambia County, Florida, United States of America. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 56,255 and as of 2009, the estimated population was 53,752...
for training to become the first women astronauts, the twelve candidates who had been selected from all applicants received a telegram stating "Regret to advise you that arrangements at Pensacola cancelled. Probably will not be possible to carry out this part of the program." It would be another 22 years before an American woman, Sally RideSally RideSally Kristen Ride is an American physicist and a former NASA astronaut. Ride joined NASA in 1978, and in 1983 became the first American woman—and then-youngest American, at 32—to enter space...
would go into outer space, although the Soviets would send two women cosmonauts into orbit before then (Valentina TereshkovaValentina TereshkovaValentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova is a retired Soviet cosmonaut, and was the first woman in space. She was selected out of more than four hundred applicants, and then out of five finalists, to pilot Vostok 6 on the 16 June, 1963, becoming both the first woman and the first civilian to fly in...
in 1963 and Svetlana SavitskayaSvetlana SavitskayaSvetlana Yevgenyevna Savitskaya She started training as a cosmonaut in 1980. Upon returning to Earth, Savitskaya was assigned as the commander of an all-female Soyuz crew to Salyut 7 in commemoration of the International Women's Day, a mission that was later canceled.She was twice awarded the Hero...
in 1982).
September 13, 1961 (Wednesday)
- SIOP-62Single Integrated Operational PlanThe Single Integrated Operational Plan was the United States' general plan for nuclear war from 1961 to 2003. The SIOP gave the President of the United States a range of targeting options, and described launch procedures and target sets against which nuclear weapons would be launched...
, the American options for nuclear war, was presented to President Kennedy in a top secret briefing from General Lyman LemnitzerLyman LemnitzerLyman Louis Lemnitzer was a United States Army General, who served as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1960 to 1962. He then served as Supreme Allied Commander of NATO from 1963 to 1969.-Biography:...
, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of StaffChairman of the Joint Chiefs of StaffThe Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is by law the highest ranking military officer in the United States Armed Forces, and is the principal military adviser to the President of the United States, the National Security Council, the Homeland Security Council and the Secretary of Defense...
. The operational plan, drawn up on April 15, provided 14 options for responding to a nuclear attack, and the 14th option, recommended by General Lemnitzer, was to explode 3,267 nuclear bombs on targets in the Soviet Union, as well as the Warsaw Pact nations and Communist China. Kennedy was reportedly furious about the lack of flexibility in the plan, which contemplated obliteration of the enemy with the expectation that the United States and its allies would sustain massive destruction as well. - The unmanned (but containing a "dummy astronaut") Mercury-Atlas 4Mercury-Atlas 4Mercury-Atlas 4 was an unmanned spaceflight of the Mercury program. It was launched on September 13, 1961 at 14:09 UTC from Launch Complex 14 at Cape Canaveral, Florida. A Crewman Simulator instrument package was aboard. The craft orbited the Earth once....
was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida. During a mission of 01:49:40 in duration, it orbited the earth once. At the time, the United States had not yet put a man into orbit. - Operation Morthor was launched at 4:00 am local time in the Congo, with United NationsUnited Nations peacekeepingPeacekeeping by the United Nations is a role held by the Department of Peacekeeping Operations as "a unique and dynamic instrument developed by the Organization as a way to help countries torn by conflict create the conditions for lasting peace"...
troops attacking the secessionist province of KatangaKatanga ProvinceKatanga Province is one of the provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Between 1971 and 1997, its official name was Shaba Province. Under the new constitution, the province was to be replaced by four smaller provinces by February 2009; this did not actually take place.Katanga's regional...
. - In the final of the DFB-Pokal 1960–61DFB-Pokal 1960–61The 1960–61 DFB-Pokal was the 18th season of the competition. It began on 28 July 1961 and ended on 13 September 1961. 16 teams competed in the tournament of four rounds. In the final Werder Bremen defeated Kaiserslautern 2–0.-First round:------------...
soccer tournament, SV Werder BremenSV Werder BremenSV Werder Bremen is a German sports club best known for its association football team playing in Bremen, in the northwest German federal state of the same name. The club was founded on 4 February 1899 as Fußballverein Werder by a group of sixteen vocational high school students who had won a prize...
defeated 1. FC Kaiserslautern1. FC Kaiserslautern1. Fußball-Club Kaiserslautern, also known as 1. FCK, FCK or simply Kaiserslautern, is a German association football club based in Kaiserslautern, Rhineland-Palatinate. On 2 June 1900, Germania 1896 and FG Kaiserslautern merged to create FC 1900...
2–0. - Born: Dave MustaineDave MustaineDavid Scott "Dave" Mustaine is the founder, main songwriter, guitarist, and lead vocalist for the American heavy metal band Megadeth. Prior to Megadeth, Mustaine was the first lead guitarist and a co-songwriter of the heavy metal band Metallica until he was fired from the band in 1983. In 2009, he...
, American heavy metal guitarist for MetallicaMetallicaMetallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
, and later for MegadethMegadethMegadeth is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California which was formed in 1983 by guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine, bassist Dave Ellefson and guitarist Greg Handevidt, following Mustaine's expulsion from Metallica. The band has since released 13 studio albums, three live albums, two...
; in La Mesa, CaliforniaLa Mesa, CaliforniaLa Mesa is a city in San Diego County, California. The population was 57,065 at the 2010 census, up from 54,749 at the 2000 census. It was founded in 1869 and officially incorporated as a city on February 16, 1912. Its official flower is the bougainvillea.... - Died: Fritz MühlenwegFritz MuhlenwegFritz Mühlenweg was a German painter and author. His most famous book is In geheimer Mission durch die Wüste Gobi , published in 1950...
, 62, German artist and writer
September 14, 1961 (Thursday)
- The new military government of TurkeyTurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
sentenced 15 members of the previous government to death, including former Prime Minister Adnan MenderesAdnan MenderesAdnan Menderes was the first democratically elected Turkish Prime Minister between 1950–1960. He was one of the founders of the Democratic Party in 1946, the fourth legal opposition party of Turkey. He was hanged by the military junta after the 1960 coup d'état, along with two other cabinet...
and former President Celâl BayarCelal BayarCelâl Bayar was a Turkish politician, statesman and the third President of Turkey. At the time of his death, he was the longest lived former head of state, living over 103 years .-Early years:He was born in 1883 at Umurbey, a village of Gemlik, Bursa as the son of a religious leader and teacher...
. Menderes was hanged 3 days later, while Bayar's sentence was commuted. - The asteroid 2642 Vésale2642 Vésale2642 Vésale is a main belt asteroid with an orbital period of 1380.5282246 days . The asteroid was discovered on September 14, 1961. bu astreoid benım dogdugum gun ortaya cıkmıs, onemlı yani :)-References:...
was discovered by Sylvain Julien Victor ArendSylvain Julien Victor ArendSylvain Julien Victor Arend was a Belgian astronomer born in Robelmont, Luxembourg . His main interest was astrometry.Together with Georges Roland, he discovered the bright comet C/1956 R1...
. - Born: Freeman MboweFreeman MboweFreeman Aikaeli Mbowe is a Tanzanian politician and chairman of Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo ....
, Tanzanian politician
September 15, 1961 (Friday)
- Operation NougatOperation NougatOperation Nougat was a series of 45 nuclear tests conducted at the Nevada Test Site in 1961 and 1962, immediately after the Soviet Union abrogated a testing moratorium, with the US' "Mink" test shot taking place the day before the Soviets test-detonated the Tsar Bomba. Most tests were...
: Two weeks after the Soviet Union resumed nuclear testing, the United States exploded a nuclear bomb for the first time since October 30, 1958. While the Soviet tests were atmospheric, the American tests were conducted underground at the Nevada Test SiteNevada Test SiteThe Nevada National Security Site , previously the Nevada Test Site , is a United States Department of Energy reservation located in southeastern Nye County, Nevada, about northwest of the city of Las Vegas...
. - Citing U.S. Congressman Chet Holifield of California as their source, Miami News columnists Robert S. Allen and Paul Scott, broke the frightening story that the Soviet Union planned to nuke the Moon. Firing nuclear-tipped rockets at Earth's satellite in 1961 and 1962, the Soviets would use the explosions on the lunar surface for scientific purposes, with the goal of landing a Soviet cosmonaut on the Moon by 1965.
- In Ireland, the Government of the 16th DáilGovernment of the 16th DáilThe 16th Dáil was elected at the 1957 general election on 5 March 1957 and first met on 20 March when the 8th Government of Ireland was appointed...
left office, as Ireland's parliament adjourned for the last time prior to the October 4 election. - Born: Dan MarinoDan MarinoDaniel Constantine "Dan" Marino, Jr. is a retired American football quarterback who played for the Miami Dolphins in the National Football League...
, American NFL quarterback, in Pittsburgh
September 16, 1961 (Saturday)
- Typhoon NancyTyphoon Nancy (1961)Super Typhoon Nancy was a powerful tropical cyclone of the 1961 Pacific typhoon season. The system with possibly the strongest winds ever measured in a tropical cyclone, Nancy caused extensive damage and at least 173 deaths and thousands of injuries in Japan and elsewhere in September 1961...
struck OsakaOsakais a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
and the island of HonshuHonshuis the largest island of Japan. The nation's main island, it is south of Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyushu across the Kanmon Strait...
in Japan (where it was referred to as the Muroto II Typhoon), with winds of 135 miles per hour. The typhoon killed 203 people and caused $500,000,000 in damage. - A U.S. Navy aircraft attempted a weather controlWeather controlWeather control is the act of manipulating or altering certain aspects of the environment to produce desirable changes in weather. Weather control can have the goal of preventing damaging weather, such as hurricanes or tornadoes, from occurring; of causing beneficial weather, such as rainfall in...
experiment by dropping eight canisters of silver iodideSilver iodideSilver iodide is a yellow, inorganic, photosensitive iodide of silver used in photography, in medicine as an antiseptic, and in rainmaking for cloud seeding.-Crystal structure:...
around the eyewall of Hurricane EstherHurricane Esther (1961)Hurricane Esther was the fifth named storm and fifth hurricane of the 1961 Atlantic hurricane season. A long-lived Category 4 Cape Verde-type hurricane, Esther spent its lifetime offshore, before moving up the East Coast of the United States...
, testing the hypothesis that a storm could be weakened by cloud seedingCloud seedingCloud seeding, a form of intentional weather modification, is the attempt to change the amount or type of precipitation that falls from clouds, by dispersing substances into the air that serve as cloud condensation or ice nuclei, which alter the microphysical processes within the cloud...
. The size of the hurricane's eyeEye (cyclone)The eye is a region of mostly calm weather found at the center of strong tropical cyclones. The eye of a storm is a roughly circular area and typically 30–65 km in diameter. It is surrounded by the eyewall, a ring of towering thunderstorms where the second most severe weather of a cyclone...
was observed to increase with an accompanying decrease in wind speed, and Project StormfuryProject StormfuryProject Stormfury was an attempt to weaken tropical cyclones by flying aircraft into them and seeding with silver iodide. The project was run by the United States Government from 1962 to 1983....
was commenced the following year. Data was collected on four hurricanes between 1963 and 1971, ultimately showing that observed decreases in wind speed had been the result of natural changes rather than seeding. - Born: Andrey IllarionovAndrey IllarionovAndrey Nikolayevich Illarionov is a Russian libertarian economist and former economic policy advisor to the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin...
, Russian economist, in Saint Petersburg - Died: Percy ChapmanPercy ChapmanArthur Percy Frank Chapman was an English cricketer who captained England to a then English-record-equalling seven consecutive Test match wins, a record that was not surpassed until Michael Vaughan's team won eight in a row in 2004...
, 61, English cricketer - Died: Hasan PolatkanHasan PolatkanHasan Polatkan was a Turkish politician and Minister of Labor and Finance, who was executed by hanging after the coup d'état in 1960 along with two other cabinet members.-Biography:...
, 46, former Turkish Finance Minister, and Fatin Rüştü ZorluFatin Rüstü ZorluFatin Rüştü Zorlu was a Turkish diplomat and politician. He was executed by hanging after the coup d'état in 1960 along with two other politicians.-Biography:...
, 51, former Turkish Foreign Minister, were exeecuted by hanging. Former Premier Adnan Menderes was in a coma after swallowing an entire bottle of sleeping pills the night before.
September 17, 1961 (Sunday)
- In the West German federal election, the CDU/CSU coalition led by Chancellor Konrad AdenauerKonrad AdenauerKonrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer was a German statesman. He was the chancellor of the West Germany from 1949 to 1963. He is widely recognised as a person who led his country from the ruins of World War II to a powerful and prosperous nation that had forged close relations with old enemies France,...
lost 28 seats and its absolute majority in the BundestagBundestagThe Bundestag is a federal legislative body in Germany. In practice Germany is governed by a bicameral legislature, of which the Bundestag serves as the lower house and the Bundesrat the upper house. The Bundestag is established by the German Basic Law of 1949, as the successor to the earlier...
, finishing with 242 of the 499 seats, while the Social Democratic Party and Free Democratic Party had 190 and 67 seats respectively. The Bundestag re-elected Adenauer as Chancellor on November 7 after he forged a deal with the FDP. - Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 706Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 706Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 706, registration N137US, was a Lockheed L-188 Electra aircraft which crashed on take-off from Chicago's O'Hare International Airport September 17, 1961. All 37 on board were killed in the accident....
crashed shortly after taking off from Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, killing all 37 people on board. - The Minnesota VikingsMinnesota VikingsThe Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
played their first regular season NFL game, and beat the Chicago BearsChicago BearsThe Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
in an upset, 37-13. Bears' coach George HalasGeorge HalasGeorge Stanley Halas, Sr. , nicknamed "Papa Bear" and "Mr. Everything", was a player, coach, owner and pioneer in professional American football. He was the iconic longtime leader of the NFL's Chicago Bears...
would later describe losing to an expansion team as "the most embarrassing defeat of his life". - Died: Adnan MenderesAdnan MenderesAdnan Menderes was the first democratically elected Turkish Prime Minister between 1950–1960. He was one of the founders of the Democratic Party in 1946, the fourth legal opposition party of Turkey. He was hanged by the military junta after the 1960 coup d'état, along with two other cabinet...
, 62, who had been the first Prime Minister of TurkeyPrime Minister of TurkeyThe Prime Minister of the Turkey is the head of government in Turkish politics. The prime minister is the leader of a political coalition in the Turkish parliament and the leader of the cabinet....
to be democratically elected, serving until his overthrow in 1960, was executed for treason. Menderes had attempted suicide by swallowing a bottle of sleeping pills at his prison cell on Yassiada Island. A team of physicians saved his life, then brought him back to consciousness long enough to be transported to the gallows on the island of İmralıImraliİmralı is a small Turkish island located in the south of the Sea of Marmara, west of Armutlu-Bozburun peninsula within Bursa Province. It served from 1999 until 2009 as a maximum-security prison island for its only inmate, Abdullah Öcalan...
.
September 18, 1961 (Monday)
- Dag HammarskjöldDag HammarskjöldDag Hjalmar Agne Carl Hammarskjöld was a Swedish diplomat, economist, and author. An early Secretary-General of the United Nations, he served from April 1953 until his death in a plane crash in September 1961. He is the only person to have been awarded a posthumous Nobel Peace Prize. Hammarskjöld...
, the Secretary-General of the United Nations was killed when his plane crashed while flying from LeopoldvilleLeopoldvilleLeopoldville may refer to:* The capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, today known as Kinshasa* SS Leopoldville, a troopship sunk in 1944...
in the CongoRepublic of the Congo (Léopoldville)The Republic of the Congo was an independent republic established following the independence granted to the former colony of the Belgian Congo in 1960...
, to NdolaNdolaNdola is the third largest city in Zambia, with a population of 495,000 . It is the industrial, commercial, on the Copperbelt, Zambia's copper-mining region, and capital of Copperbelt Province. It is also the commercial capital city of Zambia and has one of the three international airports, others...
in Northern RhodesiaNorthern RhodesiaNorthern Rhodesia was a territory in south central Africa, formed in 1911. It became independent in 1964 as Zambia.It was initially administered under charter by the British South Africa Company and formed by it in 1911 by amalgamating North-Western Rhodesia and North-Eastern Rhodesia...
(now ZambiaZambiaZambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
). He was on his way to negotiate a cease-fire with Moise TshombeMoise TshombeMoïse Kapenda Tshombe was a Congolese politician.- Biography :He was the son of a successful Congolese businessman and was born in Musumba, Congo. He received his education from an American missionary school and later trained as an accountant...
in the Katanga ProvinceKatanga ProvinceKatanga Province is one of the provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Between 1971 and 1997, its official name was Shaba Province. Under the new constitution, the province was to be replaced by four smaller provinces by February 2009; this did not actually take place.Katanga's regional...
, which had seceded from the CongoRepublic of the Congo (Léopoldville)The Republic of the Congo was an independent republic established following the independence granted to the former colony of the Belgian Congo in 1960...
. At 12:12 am local time, the DC6-B, operated by Swedish Trans Air, was cleared for a landing at Ndola. Fifteen others died in the crash of the DC6-B, operated by Swedish Trans Air, which happened after the midnight. The wreckage was found 15 hours later on the Northern Rhodesia side of the border, ten miles south of MufuliraMufuliraMufulira is a town in the Copperbelt Province of Zambia. It grew up in the 1930s around the site of the Mufulira Copper Mine on its north-western edge...
. The sole survivor, U.N. Sgt. Harold Julien, was able to tell investigators that Hammarskjold ordered the pilot not to land at Ndola, and that there had been a series of explosions. Badly burned, Sgt. Julien, an American from Miami, died on September 23. Speculation that the crash was not accidental began almost immediately. - Christopher Newport College began its first classes, opening in Newport News, VirginiaNewport News, VirginiaNewport News is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia. It is at the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula, on the north shore of the James River extending southeast from Skiffe's Creek along many miles of waterfront to the river's mouth at Newport News...
, with 8 full-time professors and 170 students. Now, Christopher Newport University, the college has 4,800 students. - Georgia Tech integrated peacefully, as classes began with three African-American freshmen among the new students.
- For the first time, troops from North VietnamNorth VietnamThe Democratic Republic of Vietnam , was a communist state that ruled the northern half of Vietnam from 1954 until 1976 following the Geneva Conference and laid claim to all of Vietnam from 1945 to 1954 during the First Indochina War, during which they controlled pockets of territory throughout...
seized control of a provincial capital in South VietnamSouth VietnamSouth Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
, capturing Phuoc Vinh in a predawn attack, only 55 miles from Saigon. The ARVN recaptured the city the next day, but not before the Governor of the Phuoc ThanhPhước ThànhPhước Thành is a former province of Dong Nam Bo region in South Vietnam. It was formed in 1959 from Tân Uyên, Biên Hòa and part of Phuoc Long Province, Long Khánh, Binh Duong Province. Province capital was Phước Vĩnh. In 1965 Phú Giáo District of the Phước Thành was dissolved into Phuoc Long Province...
province was publicly beheaded, along with the top military officers, and the government buildings burned. - Born: Lori and George Schappell, American conjoined twinsConjoined twinsConjoined twins are identical twins whose bodies are joined in utero. A rare phenomenon, the occurrence is estimated to range from 1 in 50,000 births to 1 in 100,000 births, with a somewhat higher incidence in Southwest Asia and Africa. Approximately half are stillborn, and a smaller fraction of...
, in Reading, PennsylvaniaReading, PennsylvaniaReading is a city in southeastern Pennsylvania, USA, and seat of Berks County. Reading is the principal city of the Greater Reading Area and had a population of 88,082 as of the 2010 census, making it the fifth most populated city in the state after Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown and Erie,...
September 19, 1961 (Tuesday)
- Voters in JamaicaJamaicaJamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
elected to withdraw from the West Indies FederationWest Indies FederationThe West Indies Federation, also known as the Federation of the West Indies, was a short-lived Caribbean federation that existed from January 3, 1958, to May 31, 1962. It consisted of several Caribbean colonies of the United Kingdom...
by a margin of 251,776 to 216,371. With Jamaicans comprising more than half (56%) of population and a majority of its income, the result was the end of the Federation, and resulted in . Eric WilliamsEric WilliamsEric Eustace Williams served as the first Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago. He served from 1956 until his death in 1981. He was also a noted Caribbean historian, and is widely regarded as "The Father of The Nation."...
of Trinidad and TobagoTrinidad and TobagoTrinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
summed up the situation as "One from ten leaves nought." - NASANASAThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
Administrator James E. WebbJames E. WebbJames Edwin Webb was an American government official who served as the second administrator of NASA from February 14, 1961 to October 7, 1968....
announced that the new Manned Spacecraft Center would be built near Houston, TexasHouston, TexasHouston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
on 1,000 acres of land donated by Rice UniversityRice UniversityWilliam Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University or Rice, is a private research university located on a heavily wooded campus in Houston, Texas, United States...
. Later renamed the Lyndon B. Johnson Space CenterLyndon B. Johnson Space CenterThe Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center is the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's center for human spaceflight training, research and flight control. The center consists of a complex of 100 buildings constructed on 1,620 acres in Houston, Texas, USA...
, the site would serve the Apollo space program as Mission Control, with astronauts referring to it by its location (as in "Houston, we've had a problem" spoken during the Apollo 13Apollo 13Apollo 13 was the seventh manned mission in the American Apollo space program and the third intended to land on the Moon. The craft was launched on April 11, 1970, at 13:13 CST. The landing was aborted after an oxygen tank exploded two days later, crippling the service module upon which the Command...
mission. - Babi Yar, the controversial poem by Yevgeny YevtushenkoYevgeny YevtushenkoYevgeny Aleksandrovich Yevtushenko is a Soviet and Russian poet. He is also a novelist, essayist, dramatist, screenwriter, actor, editor, and a director of several films.-Early life:...
, was published in the official Soviet literary magazine Literaturnaya GazetaLiteraturnaya GazetaLiteraturnaya Gazeta is a weekly cultural and political newspaper published in Russia and Soviet Union.- Overview :...
, marking the first time that the Holocaust was officially acknowledged in the U.S.S.R. - Betty and Barney Hill abductionBetty and Barney Hill abductionBetty and Barney Hill were an American couple who claimed to have been abducted by extraterrestrials in a rural portion of New Hampshire on September 19–20, 1961....
: In one of the first reported cases of an "alien abduction", Betty Hill and Barney Hill were returning from a vacation in Canada, to their home in Portsmouth, New HampshirePortsmouth, New HampshirePortsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire in the United States. It is the largest city but only the fourth-largest community in the county, with a population of 21,233 at the 2010 census...
. on U.S. Route 3U.S. Route 3U.S. Route 3 is a north–south United States highway that runs from its southern terminus in Cambridge, Massachusetts through New Hampshire to its terminus near Third Connecticut Lake at the Canadian border, where the road continues north as Quebec Route 257.In New Hampshire parts of US 3 are...
. South of LancasterLancaster, New HampshireLancaster is a town in Coos County, New Hampshire, USA, on the Connecticut River named after Lancaster, England. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 3,507, the second largest in the county after Berlin. It is the county seat of Coos County and gateway to the Great North Woods Region...
, the Hills would later report, they encountered a U.F.O., and had no immediate memory of what happened later until the details were brought out with the aid of hypnotism. In 1966, author John Fuller turned their story into a best selling book called The Interrupted Journey: Two Lost Hours "Aboard a Flying Saucer". The Hill's story would become the first of many tales of abduction by extraterrestrials. In 1975, Estelle Parsons and James Earl Jones would portray the Hills in a TV movie. Barney would die in 1969, while Betty survived until 2004.
September 20, 1961 (Wednesday)
- McCloy–Zorin Accords: Even as tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union were escalating, the two nations issued a "Joint Statement of Agreed Principles for Disarmament Negotiations" with eight points that would be followed in subsequent discussions. U.S. Presidential Adviser John J. McCloyJohn J. McCloyJohn Jay McCloy was a lawyer and banker who served as Assistant Secretary of War during World War II, president of the World Bank and U.S. High Commissioner for Germany...
and Deputy Soviet Foreign Minister Valerian ZorinValerian ZorinValerian Alexandrovich Zorin was a Soviet diplomat and statesman.-Biography:After joining the Soviet Communist Party in 1922, Zorin held a managerial position in a Moscow City Committee and the Central Committee of the Komsomol until 1932...
led the delegations from the two countries, promising to the United NationsUnited NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
to work toward the eventual elimination of all weapons of mass destruction. - Konstantinos Karamanlis resigned as Prime Minister of GreecePrime Minister of GreeceThe Prime Minister of Greece , officially the Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic , is the head of government of the Hellenic Republic and the leader of the Greek cabinet. The current interim Prime Minister is Lucas Papademos, a former Vice President of the European Central Bank, following...
as elections for parliament were scheduled for October 29. King PaulPaul of GreecePaul reigned as King of Greece from 1947 to 1964.-Family and early life:Paul was born in Athens, the third son of King Constantine I of Greece and his wife, Princess Sophia of Prussia. He was trained as a naval officer....
appointed retired General Konstantinos DovasKonstantinos DovasKonstantinos Dovas was a was a Greek general and interim Prime Minister.Dovas was born in Konitsa. In 1918, Dovas graduated from the Greek Military Academy. During the Greek Civil War between the government and the communist Democratic Army of Greece, he was commander of the Konitsa garrison and...
to serve as the new Premier until December 4. - In the 154th game of the 1961 Major League Baseball season1961 Major League Baseball seasonThe New York Yankees defeated the Cincinnati Reds in five games in the World Series. The season is most well known for Yankee teammates Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle's pursuit of Babe Ruth's prestigious 34-year-old single-season home run record of 60...
, Roger MarisRoger MarisRoger Eugene Maris was an American Major League Baseball right fielder. During the 1961 season, he hit a record 61 home runs for the New York Yankees, breaking Babe Ruth's single-season record of 60 home runs...
hit his 59th home run of the year in the 3rd inning of the New York Yankees game at the Baltimore Orioles. Maris made two more hits into the stands in the 4th and 7th innings, but each was a foul ballFoul ballIn baseball, a foul ball is a batted ball that:* Settles on foul territory between home and first base or between home and third base, or* Bounds past first or third base on or over foul territory, or...
. Maris failed to tie or break Babe RuthBabe RuthGeorge Herman Ruth, Jr. , best known as "Babe" Ruth and nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", was an American Major League baseball player from 1914–1935...
's 1927 record of 60 home runs in 154 games, but had eight games remaining to play. - The Central Intelligence AgencyCentral Intelligence AgencyThe Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
began moving into its new headquarters in Langley, VirginiaLangley, VirginiaLangley is an unincorporated community in the census-designated place of McLean in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States.The community was essentially absorbed into McLean many years ago, although there is still a Langley High School...
, after having been housed in 33 buildings scattered throughout Washington D.C. (the DCI having been at 2430 E Street N.W.). - East Germany enacted its first conscription law, making military service mandatory for all men between the ages of 18 and 50 years old. The National People's ArmyNational People's ArmyThe National People’s Army were the armed forces of the German Democratic Republic .The NVA was established in 1956 and disestablished in 1990. There were frequent reports of East German advisors with Communist African countries during the Cold War...
(Nationalen Volksarmee) had formerly been an all-volunteer force. - All American passenger airplanes would be equipped with a cockpit voice recorderCockpit voice recorderA cockpit voice recorder , often referred to as a "black box", is a flight recorder used to record the audio environment in the flight deck of an aircraft for the purpose of investigation of accidents and incidents...
- Born: Sharon LopatkaSharon LopatkaSharon Rina Lopatka was an Internet entrepreneur in Hampstead, Maryland, United States, who was killed in a case of apparent consensual homicide. Lopatka was tortured and strangled to death on October 16, 1996, by Robert Frederick Glass, a computer analyst from North Carolina. The apparent...
, American Internet entrepreneur, as Sharon Denburg in Baltimore, Maryland (died 1996) - Died: Andrzej Munk, 39, Polish director, in a car crash on his way home from the Auschwitz concentration camp where he was shooting the film PassengerPassenger (film)Passenger is an unfinished 1963 Polish film directed by Andrzej Munk, which Witold Lesiewicz assembled for release.Passenger, using the form of a documentary, relates the experiences of one female SS officer at the Auschwitz concentration camp during the Holocaust and her relationship with an...
- Died: Karl Farr, 52, American guitarist and founder of the country and western group The Sons of the Pioneers. Farr was performing solo at the Eastern States Exhibition in Springfield, MassachusettsSpringfield, MassachusettsSpringfield is the most populous city in Western New England, and the seat of Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers; the western Westfield River, the eastern Chicopee River, and the eastern...
when a string broke on his guitar, and suffered a heart attack while trying to change it. As part of the induction of his group, he entered the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1980.
September 21, 1961 (Thursday)
- In French AlgeriaFrench AlgeriaFrench Algeria lasted from 1830 to 1962, under a variety of governmental systems. From 1848 until independence, the whole Mediterranean region of Algeria was administered as an integral part of France, much like Corsica and Réunion are to this day. The vast arid interior of Algeria, like the rest...
, the Organisation armée secrèteOrganisation armée secrèteThe Organisation de l'armée secrète was a short-lived, French far-right nationalist militant and underground organization during the Algerian War . The OAS used armed struggle in an attempt to prevent Algeria's independence...
(OAS) knocked Algiers television off the air, toppling the transmission tower with bombs moments before it was to broadcast a message from President Charles de GaulleCharles de GaulleCharles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....
. OAS leader Raoul SalanRaoul SalanRaoul Albin Louis Salan was a French Army general and the fourth French commanding general during the First Indochina War. Salan was one of four generals who organized the 1961 Algiers Putsch operation and then founded the Organisation de l'armée secrète....
then transmitted a speech on the same frequency, taunting de Gaulle and calling for demonstrations against the separation of Algeria from French rule. - Died: Earle DicksonEarle DicksonEarle Dickson was an American inventor best known for creating Band-Aid® brand adhesive bandages.Dickson was a cotton buyer at the Johnson & Johnson company. His wife, Josephine Knight, often cut herself while doing housework and cooking. Dickson found that the gauze stuck to a wound with tape...
, 68, American inventor best known for creating (in 1920) the Band-AidBand-AidBand-Aid is a brand name for Johnson & Johnson's line of adhesive bandages and related products. It has also become a genericized trademark for any adhesive bandage in Australia, Brazil, Canada, India and the United States....
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September 22, 1961 (Friday)
- The ICCInterstate Commerce CommissionThe Interstate Commerce Commission was a regulatory body in the United States created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads to ensure fair rates, to eliminate rate discrimination, and to regulate other aspects of common carriers, including...
ruled that, effective November 1, all interstate buses in the United States were required to display signs that provided "Seating aboard this vehicle is without regard to race, color, creed, or national origin, by order of the Interstate Commerce Commission." In the same order, the ICC prohibited interstate buses from using "any terminal facilities which are so operated, arranged, or maintained as to involve any separation of any portion thereof, or in the use thereof on the basis of race, color, creed, or national origin." The order was a victory for the Freedom Riders, who suspended further plans to challenge racial segregation on buses and bus terminals. - President Kennedy signed legislation permanently funding the Peace CorpsPeace CorpsThe Peace Corps is an American volunteer program run by the United States Government, as well as a government agency of the same name. The mission of the Peace Corps includes three goals: providing technical assistance, helping people outside the United States to understand US culture, and helping...
, one week after the House of Representatives had approved the bill 287-97. The Senate had previously approved the legislation by voice vote. - At 3:45 am, Antonio AbertondoAntonio AbertondoAntonio Abertondo of Argentina was the first person to complete a two way swim of the English Channel. He completed the swim on 21 September 1961 in a time of 43 h 10 mins. He also swam the English Channel on 3 other occasions in 1950, 1951 & 1954.-References:...
arrived in DoverDoverDover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; east of Kent's administrative capital Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings...
and became the first person to swim across the English Channel and right back again, resting for only ten minutes between crossings. Abertondo had departed England on September 20 at 8:35 am, arriving nearly 19 hours later in WissantWissantWissant is a seaside commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:...
on the coast of France. After his brief break, Abertondo began his swim back to England. - Dominic Abata was elected leader of the breakaway cab drivers and mechanics' union in Chicago.
- Born: Scott BaioScott BaioScott Vincent James Baio is an American actor and television director, best known for his roles as Chachi Arcola on the sitcom Happy Days and its spin-off, Joanie Loves Chachi, and as the title character on the sitcom Charles in Charge....
, American actor, in BrooklynBrooklynBrooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated... - Died: Marion DaviesMarion DaviesMarion Davies was an American film actress. Davies is best remembered for her relationship with newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst, as her high-profile social life often obscured her professional career....
, 64, American socialite and film actress
September 23, 1961 (Saturday)
- NBC Saturday Night at the MoviesNBC Saturday Night at the MoviesNBC Saturday Night at the Movies, was the first continuing weekly prime time network television series to show relatively recent feature films from major studios in color...
broke the long-standing feud between the American movie and television industries, showing semi-recent hit films, after coming to an agreement with 20th Century Fox20th Century FoxTwentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
. Beginning in 1956, motion pictures made before 1948 had been shown on TV without the need to compensate the actors. The first offering was the 1953 comedy How to Marry a MillionaireHow to Marry a MillionaireHow to Marry a Millionaire is a 1953 romantic comedy film made by 20th Century Fox, directed by Jean Negulesco and produced and written by Nunnally Johnson. The screenplay was based on the plays The Greeks Had a Word for It by Zoe Akins and Loco by Dale Eunson and Katherine Albert. The music score...
. ABC introduced a Sunday night movie in 1962, NBC had movie nights Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday over the next four years, and CBS started a Thursday night film in 1965. - Stirling MossStirling MossSir Stirling Craufurd Moss, OBE FIE is a former racing driver from England...
wins the International Gold Cup1961 International Gold CupThe 8th Gold Cup was a motor race, run to Formula One rules, held on 23 September 1961 at Oulton Park, England. The race was run over 60 laps of the circuit, and was won by British driver Stirling Moss in a Ferguson P99....
motor race at Oulton ParkOulton ParkOulton Park Circuit is a motor racing track in the small village of Little Budworth, Cheshire, England. It is about from Winsford, from Chester city centre, from Northwich and from Warrington with a nearby rail connection along the Mid-Cheshire Line. It occupies much of the area which was...
.
September 24, 1961 (Sunday)
- Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color premiered on NBC, with "An Adventure in Color", introduced by Walt DisneyWalt DisneyWalter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
himself, who in turn introduced Professor Ludwig Von DrakeLudwig Von DrakeProfessor Ludwig von Drake is one of Walt Disney's cartoon and comic book characters. He was first introduced on September 24, 1961, as the presenter in the cartoon An Adventure in Color, part of the first show of Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color on NBC...
, the first Disney character created for television. The show was credited with doubling the sale of color televisionColor televisionColor television is part of the history of television, the technology of television and practices associated with television's transmission of moving images in color video....
sets within its first year, as well as presenting educational and informative programming. The New York Herald Tribune wrote in its review, "Newton Minow can relax," referring to the FCC Commissioner who, on May 9, 1961May 1961January – February – March – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November – DecemberThe following events occurred in May 1961.-May 1, 1961 :...
, had described American television as a "vast wasteland". - The Deutsche Opernhaus, which had been destroyed during a World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
bombing raid on November 23, 1943, was reopened at its former location on Bismarckstrasse in the Berlin neighborhood of CharlottenburgCharlottenburgCharlottenburg is a locality of Berlin within the borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf, named after Queen consort Sophia Charlotte...
, as the Deutsche Oper BerlinDeutsche Oper BerlinThe Deutsche Oper Berlin is an opera company located in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin, Germany. The resident building is also home to the Berlin State Ballet.-History:...
. The first presentation was Wolfgang Amadeus MozartWolfgang Amadeus MozartWolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
's 1787 opera Don GiovanniDon GiovanniDon Giovanni is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and with an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It was premiered by the Prague Italian opera at the Teatro di Praga on October 29, 1787...
.
September 25, 1961 (Monday)
- Department of the Army Message 578636 designated the green beretGreen beretThe green beret was the official headdress of the British Commandos of World War II. It is still worn with pride by members of the Royal Marines after passing the Commando Course and any member of the British Military who has passed the All Arms Commando Course.There are certain other military...
as the exclusive headgear of the U.S. Army Special Forces, giving the group their nickname of the "Green Berets". - By a margin of almost 80%, voters in RwandaRwandaRwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
said "no" to continuing the monarchy in a referendumRwandan monarchy referendum, 1961A referendum on the monarchy was held in Rwanda on 25 September 1961, concurrent with parliamentary elections. The referendum asked two questions; whether the monarchy should be retained after independence the following year, and whether the incumbent, Kigeli V should remain King...
conducted in advance of the African nation's scheduled independence. The ParmehutuParmehutuParmehutu , also known as MDR-Parmehutu is a now-defunct political party of Rwanda and Burundi.It was founded by Grégoire Kayibanda as a political party of moderate Hutu...
(Parti du Mouvement de l' Emancipation Hutu) political party, composed of the majority HutuHutuThe Hutu , or Abahutu, are a Central African people, living mainly in Rwanda, Burundi, and eastern DR Congo.-Population statistics:The Hutu are the largest of the three peoples in Burundi and Rwanda; according to the United States Central Intelligence Agency, 84% of Rwandans and 85% of Burundians...
tribe, won 35 of the 44 seats in the first Parliament. - The HustlerThe Hustler (film)The Hustler is a 1961 American drama film directed by Robert Rossen from the 1959 novel of the same name he and Sidney Carroll adapted for the screen...
, a film about pool players, starring Paul NewmanPaul NewmanPaul Leonard Newman was an American actor, film director, entrepreneur, humanitarian, professional racing driver and auto racing enthusiast...
and Jackie GleasonJackie GleasonJackie Gleason was an American comedian, actor and musician. He was known for his brash visual and verbal comedy style, especially by his character Ralph Kramden on The Honeymooners, a situation-comedy television series. His most noted film roles were as Minnesota Fats in the drama film The...
, was released by 20th Century Fox. "The movie transformed American culture in an instant," noted one historian. "Pool halls, pool playing, pool players— all of it, very suddenly, very unexpectedly— became hip." - President Kennedy addressed the United NationsUnited NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
about the need for nuclear disarmament, declaring that "Today, every inhabitant of this planet must contemplate that day when this planet may no longer be inhabitable. Every man, woman and child lives under a nuclear sword of Damocles, hanging by the slenderest of threads, capable of being cut at any moment by accident or miscalculation or madness. The weapons of war must be abolished before they abolish us." - In Tacoma, Washington, KBTC-TVKBTC-TVKBTC-TV is an American public television station in Tacoma, Washington, affiliated with the Public Broadcasting Service . It broadcasts on digital channel 27, and Comcast cable channel 12. Its offices and broadcasting center are located on the campus of owner Bates Technical College...
went on the air for the first time, as KTPS-TV. - Born: Heather LocklearHeather LocklearHeather Deen Locklear is an American actress best known for her television roles as Sammy Jo Carrington on Dynasty, Officer Stacy Sheridan on T.J...
, American TV actress, in Los Angeles, California; Frankie RandallFrankie Randall-External links:...
, American boxer, world light welterweight champion 1994-1997; in Birmingham, Alabama; and Mario Diaz-BalartMario Diaz-BalartMario Rafael Diaz-Balart Caballero is the current U.S. Representative for , serving since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he was elected in 2010 to succeed his brother, Lincoln Diaz-Balart. The district includes the city of Hialeah, along with several of Miami's southwestern suburbs...
, U.S. Congressman (R-Florida) and son of exiled Cuban Interior Minister Rafael Diaz-BalartRafael Diaz-BalartRafael Lincoln Díaz-Balart y Gutiérrez was a Cuban politician. Díaz-Balart served as Majority Leader of the Cuban House of Representatives and Minister of the Interior during the presidency of Fulgencio Batista....
; in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
September 26, 1961 (Tuesday)
- The Arms Control and Disarmament AgencyArms Control and Disarmament AgencyThe U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency was established as an independent agency of the United States government by the Arms Control and Disarmament Act , September 26, 1961, a bill drafted by presidential adviser John J. McCloy. Its predecessor was the U.S. Disarmament Administration, part...
was - In London, at its annual conference, the Executive Committee of FIFAFIFAThe Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...
suspended the Football Association of South Africa from international soccer football competition. At the 1960 meeting in Rome, FIFA had given South Africa one year to adopt a non-discriminatory racial policy. - Roger MarisRoger MarisRoger Eugene Maris was an American Major League Baseball right fielder. During the 1961 season, he hit a record 61 home runs for the New York Yankees, breaking Babe Ruth's single-season record of 60 home runs...
hit his 60th home run in a 3-2 win for the Yankees over the Orioles, tying the record set by Babe RuthBabe RuthGeorge Herman Ruth, Jr. , best known as "Babe" Ruth and nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", was an American Major League baseball player from 1914–1935...
in 1927 for most homers in a season. - Born: Will SelfWill SelfWilliam Woodard "Will" Self is an English novelist and short story writer. His fictional style is known for being satirical, grotesque, and fantastical. He is a prolific commentator on contemporary British life, with regular appearances on Newsnight and Question Time...
, English writer and broadcaster, in London, son of Professor Peter SelfPeter SelfPeter John Otter Self was born in London and was educated at Lancing College and then Balliol College, Oxford, where he read Philosophy, Politics and Economics. He went on to become Emeritus Professor of Public Administration at the London School of Economics and Professor of Urban Research at... - Died: Charles WilsonCharles Erwin WilsonCharles Erwin Wilson , American businessman and politician, was United States Secretary of Defense from 1953 to 1957 under President Eisenhower. Known as "Engine Charlie", he previously worked as CEO for General Motors. In the wake of the Korean War, he cut the defense budget significantly.-Early...
, 71, former U.S. Secretary of Defense and former CEO of General MotorsGeneral MotorsGeneral Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
; Bulbul (Murtuza Rza oglu Mammadov), 64, Azerbaijani and Soviet opera and folk singer; Robert L. EichelbergerRobert L. EichelbergerRobert Lawrence Eichelberger was a general in the United States Army, who commanded the US Eighth Army in the South West Pacific Area during World War II. His Army was among the very first to engage the Japanese in the Pacific Theater of Operations.-Pre-World War II service:Eichelberger was born...
, 75, American general who commanded the U.S. 8th Army in the war against Japan.
September 27, 1961 (Wednesday)
- Sierra LeoneSierra LeoneSierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
became the 100th member of the United NationsUnited NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
, following unanimous approval by the General Assembly. - Former Vice-President Richard M. Nixon, who had narrowly lost the U.S. presidential race in 1960, told a crowd in Los Angeles that he would not run for president in 1964, and that he would run for Governor of CaliforniaGovernor of CaliforniaThe Governor of California is the chief executive of the California state government, whose responsibilities include making annual State of the State addresses to the California State Legislature, submitting the budget, and ensuring that state laws are enforced...
in 1962. After a disastrous campaign, Nixon lost to Governor Pat Brown, but would win the presidency in 1968. - The first episode of TV prime-time cartoon series Top CatTop CatTop Cat is a Hanna-Barbera prime time animated television series which ran from September 27, 1961 to April 18, 1962 for a run of 30 episodes on the ABC network. Reruns are played on Cartoon Network's classic animation network Boomerang.-History:...
was aired on the ABC network in the U.S. - In the U.S.S.R., Rahmankul Kurbanovich Kurbanov replaced Arif Alimovich Alimov as the Premier of the Uzbek Soviet Socialist RepublicPrime Minister of UzbekistanAccording to the Constitution of Uzbekistan, the Prime Minister of Uzbekistan and the deputy ministers are appointed by the President.-Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars:*Fayzulla Khodzhayev...
(now the nation of UzbekistanUzbekistanUzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
). - Born: Arturo Beltrán Leyva, Mexican drug trafficker, in Badraguato (shot dead by law enforcement officers in 2009)
- Died: H.D.H.D.H.D. was an American poet, novelist and memoirist known for her association with the early 20th century avant-garde Imagist group of poets such as Ezra Pound and Richard Aldington...
(Hilda Doolittle), 75, American poet and novelist; and Haji Laq LaqHaji Laq LaqHaji Laq Laq , born Ata Muhammad, was a humorist, Urdu poet and journalist of the Indian subcontinent. He was commonly known Haji Laq Laq, and used also Laq Laq as a Takhalus .-Biography:...
, 63, Indian poet and humorist who wrote in the Urdu language
September 28, 1961 (Thursday)
- The United Arab RepublicUnited Arab RepublicThe United Arab Republic , often abbreviated as the U.A.R., was a sovereign union between Egypt and Syria. The union began in 1958 and existed until 1961, when Syria seceded from the union. Egypt continued to be known officially as the "United Arab Republic" until 1971. The President was Gamal...
, which had united EgyptEgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
and SyriaSyriaSyria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
under Egyptian rule in 1958, was brought to an end when Lt. Col. Abd al-Karim al-NahlawiAbd al-Karim al-NahlawiAbd al-Karim al-Nahlawi is a former Syrian military officer and head of the coup which ended the union of Syria and Egypt as the United Arab Republic on Sept. 28, 1961. Al-Nahlawi seized personal power in a second coup the following year, briefly ruling Syria before falling victim to another coup...
led a coup in DamascusDamascusDamascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
and announced that Syria would leave the UAR. President Nasser sent a force of 2,000 Egyptian paratroopers to crush the revolt, but rescinded the order when Syrian commanders in AleppoAleppoAleppo is the largest city in Syria and the capital of Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Syrian governorate. With an official population of 2,301,570 , expanding to over 2.5 million in the metropolitan area, it is also one of the largest cities in the Levant...
and LatakiaLatakiaLatakia, or Latakiyah , is the principal port city of Syria, as well as the capital of the Latakia Governorate. In addition to serving as a port, the city is a manufacturing center for surrounding agricultural towns and villages...
supported the insurrection. Nasser's chief aide in Syria, Marshal Abd al-Hakim Amer, was put on a plane and sent back to Cairo. The next day, Dr. Maamun al-KuzbariMaamun al-KuzbariMaamun al-Kuzbari was a Syrian literary personality, politician and acting head of state from a prominent Damascus family.- Career :...
was named to head the interim government as premier. - The word "ain'tAin'tAin't is a colloquialism and contraction for "am not", "is not", "are not", "has not", and "have not" in the common English language vernacular. In some dialects ain't is also used as a contraction of "do not", "does not", and "did not". The usage of ain't is a perennial subject of controversy in...
" was accepted into the English language with the publication of the Third Edition of the Merriam-WebsterMerriam-WebsterMerriam–Webster, which was originally the G. & C. Merriam Company of Springfield, Massachusetts, is an American company that publishes reference books, especially dictionaries that are descendants of Noah Webster’s An American Dictionary of the English Language .Merriam-Webster Inc. has been a...
, the first completely new edition since 1944. Merriam President Gordon J. Oallan had announced the controversial decision on September 6, noting that "ain't" was one of thousands of new words that had been added.
September 29, 1961 (Friday)
- Operating in secrecy, Soviet leader Nikita KhrushchevNikita KhrushchevNikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...
sent a 26-page long private letter to President Kennedy, expressing his regrets over the harsh treatment he had given to Kennedy their Vienna summit, and seeking a way to resolve the Berlin CrisisBerlin CrisisBerlin Crisis may refer to*the Berlin Blockade of 1948-1949*the Berlin Crisis of 1961*the Australian alternative band, see Berlin Crisis...
. Using the analogy of "Noah's ArkNoah's ArkNoah's Ark is a vessel appearing in the Book of Genesis and the Quran . These narratives describe the construction of the ark by Noah at God's command to save himself, his family, and the world's animals from the worldwide deluge of the Great Flood.In the narrative of the ark, God sees the...
, where both the 'clean' and the 'unclean' found sanctuary" for the world, Khrushchev wrote that regardless of what each side thought of the other, both sides "are all equally interested in one thing, and that is that the Ark should successfully continue its cruise." Concealed in a newspaper, the letter was handed by KGB agent Georgi Bolshakov to presidential press secretary Pierre SalingerPierre SalingerPierre Emil George Salinger was a White House Press Secretary to U.S. Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson...
in a hotel room in New York City. Kennedy responded with an equally private letter on October 16. - Forty-year-old Hawaiian Keo NakamaKeo NakamaKeo Nakama was an American swimmer.Nakama was born in the town of Puʻunene, Hawaii on the island of Maui. His swimming career included a world record 20:29 in the mile swim, Big Ten Conference titles at Ohio State, and numerous national and international victories...
became the first person to swim from the island of Molokai to Oahu. It took him 15½ hours to cross the treacherous 27-mile Ka Iwa Channel. - Minutes after Fidel CastroFidel CastroFidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...
announced that he was going to "clean up" HavanaHavanaHavana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
, the last casinosCasinosCasinos can refer to:*the plural of Casino*Casinos, Valencia, a municipality in Spain*The Casinos, an American popular music group...
in CubaCubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
were closed. At the time of the revolution, there had been 25 gambling casinos. Five were left, all in government operated hotels, at the time of the order.
September 30, 1961 (Saturday)
- The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) was formed, replacing the Organization for European Economic Co-operation (OEEC).
- The Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961The Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 affects Title 15 of the United States Code, Chapter 32 "Telecasting of Professional Sports Contest" -Overview:...
was signed into law by President Kennedy, providing a limited exception to U.S. antitrust law to allow American sports leagues to negotiate TV and radio contracts. - Born: Eric StoltzEric StoltzEric Hamilton Stoltz is an American actor, director and producer. He is widely known for playing the role of Rocky Dennis in the biographical drama film Mask, which earned him the nomination for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture...
, American film and television actor, in Whittier, CaliforniaWhittier, CaliforniaWhittier is a city in Los Angeles County, California about southeast of Los Angeles. The city had a population of 85,331 at the 2010 census, up from 83,680 as of the 2000 census, and encompasses 14.7 square miles . Like nearby Montebello, the city constitutes part of the Gateway Cities...