by Michael  Z.

1960  1961  1962  1963  1964  1965  1966  1967  1968  1969

    1961 is a very exciting year. John F. Kennedy is our President and communism was his biggest problem. The first American travels through space. Medicine and technology was remarkable in this year. Many things happened in the year 1961. The United Nations spoke out against apartheid in South Africa. East Germany closes the border with West Germany. The Supremes sign with Motown Records. The Bay of Pigs nearly bring another war. The Minnesota Twins and Los Angeles Angels play their first games and Roger Maris breaks the single season home run record, a new typewriter is invented, and much more!  A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association reveals a statistical link between smoking tobacco and heart disease. Emission control devices are required on all new cars in California. President John F. Kennedy signs legislation making hijacking a capital crime.

• In January the State Department begins work on establishing the U.S. Peace Corps.
• On January 20, John F. Kennedy is inaugurated in to presidency of the United States.
• On March 9 the Dalai Lama appeals to the United Nations to restore the independence of Tibet.
• On March 21 the Beatles make their British debut at the Cavern Club in Liverpool, England.
• The Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba by the United States occurs on April 17.
• Freedom riders begin a civil rights demonstration at Birmingham on May 4.
• On May 5 Alan Shepard became the first America in space. The Freedom 7 spacecraft leaves the earth's atmosphere.
• The Berlin Wall is built from August 15-17. 

  Adolf Eichman is tried in Israel and found guilty of crimes against the Jewish people during the Holocaust of World War II. He is executed on May 31, 1962.

• August 18 - August 20 The U.S. Navy and the U.S. Environmental Sciences Service Administration initiate Project Stormfury, an attempt to modify hurricanes through seeding, by heavily seeding Hurricane Debbie with silver iodide. Wind speeds drop

• September 6 singer Bob Dylan makes his debut at the Gaslight Café in Greenwich Village, New York, New York, appearing with blues musician John Lee Hooker.

• On October 1, Roger Maris breaks Babe Ruth's single season home run record.

  In an October speech about the state of U.S. civil defenses, President John F. Kennedy urges U.S. families to build atomic fallout shelters. The U.S. Office of Civil and Defense Mobilization publishes The Family Fallout Shelter, showing Americans how to build a fallout shelter in care of a nuclear war.

• November 6 - November 9 a fire sweeps through Bel Air in Los Angeles, California, destroying more than 400 homes.

• IBM introduces the Selectric typewriter.
• The worldwide chain of McDonald's is started by Ray Kroc.
• Coca-Cola Company introduces Sprite.
• 302 babies born in West Germany are deformed because of Phocomelia, a disease caused by the tranquilizer drug thalidomide taken by their mothers when they were pregnant.
• Coffee-Mate is introduced.
• Green Giant begins selling frozen vegetables in butter sauce in ready to boil pouches.
• The Twenty-Third Amendment passes giving Washing D.C. representation in congress.
• Acetaminophen tablets gain FDA approval in July as an alternative to aspirin.

• George Devol and U.S. businessman Joseph Engelberger develop the first true robot, a programmable manipulator called “Programmed Article Transfer.” Installed at General Motors by their company Unimation, it is used to unload parts from a die-casting operation. 

• The Minute Man intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is first launched. It uses a solid rocket fuel instead of liquid, making for a quicker response time. It is launched from underground concrete silos for maximum defense.
• The U.S. firm Eastman Kodak introduces Kodachrome II color film, which is 2.5 times faster than Kodachrome.
• The World Wildlife Fund is established to promote conservation.
• The northwest United States experiences the worst drought in U.S. history.
• Johnson & Johnson introduces acetaminophen tablets as an alternative to aspirin; they market them as Tylenol.
• U.S. neurosurgeon Irving Cooper first uses cryosurgery to remove brain tumors. Cryogenic surgery is also first used to help patients with Parkinson's disease.
• The twist dance craze takes off in the United States, inspired by the Chubby Checker song "The Twist."
• The British pop singer Billy Fury releases the single “Halfway to Paradise.”
• Bobby Vee releases the single “Poetry in Motion.”
• Ben E. King releases the single “Stand By Me.”
• The Marvelettes' single “Please Mr. Postman” becomes the first chart number one from the Motown record label.
• The Shirelles release the single “Mama Said.”
• The Beach Boys, formerly known as the Pendletones, Kenny and the Cadets, and Carl and the Passions, release their first single, “Surfin'.”
• Bobby Lewis releases the single “Tossin' and Turnin.”
• Artist Roy Lichtenstein paints Popeye.
• The 23rd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution becomes law. It gives Washington, D.C. residents the right to vote in presidential elections.
• Julia Child publishes Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

34th Annual Academy Awards
Best Actress: Audrey Hepburn Breakfast at Tiffany's
Best Actor: Charles Boyer Fanny
Best Picture: Fanny

Emmy Awards:
Best Drama: The Defenders
Best Comedy: The Bob Newhart Show

34th Annual Grammy Awards:
Album of the Year: Judy at Carnegie Hall Judy Garland
Best new Artist: Peter Nero
Song of the Year: Moon River Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer - songwriters
Record of the Year: Moon River Henry Mancini

1960  1961  1962  1963  1964  1965  1966  1967  1968  1969

1960's