- In 1961: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Wayne Gretzky, and actors Robert Carlyle, Michael J. Fox, and George Clooney were born. Gary Cooper, Carl Jung, Ernest Hemingway, and Ty Cobb died.
- In 1961: Bobby Lewis's "Tossin' and Turnin' was Billboard's #1 hit of the year.
- In 1961: The yearly inflation rate in the UK was 2.9%. The yearly inflation rate in the USA was 1.07%. The Average Cost of new house was $12,500.00 ($103,531.46 in 2017 adjusting for infration)
- ... The average income was $5,315.00 ($44,021.58 in 2017 dollars). A gallon of gasoline cost $0.27 ($2.24 in 2017dollars).
- In 1961: The average cost of a new car was $2,850.00 ($23,605.17 in 2017dollars). A dozen eggs cost $0.30 ($2.48 in 2017 dollars), and a pound of bacon set you back $0.67 ($5.55 in 2017 dollars).
- In 1961: The Soviet Union’s Yuri Gagarinwas the first human in space (April 12).
- In 1961: Alan Shepard followed in May to become America’s first astronaut in space.
- In 1961: After one of the closest elections in U.S history, in January John F. Kennedy prepared to take office as the 35th President of the United States, with some attributing the win to rigged vote totals in Illinois and Texas.
- In 1961: As MAD Magazine pointed out on its cover for the March 1961 issue, this was the first strobogrammatic year since 1881...
- In 1961: ... Strobogrammatic years are "upside-up" years (one in which the numerals that form the year look the same as when the numerals are rotated upside down).
- In 1961: President Kennedy asked Congress for $531 million to put a man on the moon before the end of the decade.
- In 1961: The Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, allowing residents of Washington, D.C. to vote in presidential elections.
- In 1961: In March President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps.
- In 1961: On February 9 The Beatles performed for the first time at The Cavern Club in Liverpool, England.
- In 1961: On April 23 Judy Garland performed her legendary comeback concert at Carnegie Hall in New York City.
- In 1961: On May 4 U.S. Freedom Riders began interstate bus rides to test the new U.S. Supreme Court integration decision.
- In 1961: The first laser was constructed.
- In 1961: President John F. Kennedy advises American families to build backyard bomb shelters.
- In 1961: On April 17th a 1,500 CIA-trained force of Cuban exiles invaded southern Cuba at the "Bay of Pigs" / "Bahía de Cochinos ". A total disaster, 118 were killed and 1,202 were captured by Cuban forces...
- ... A few months later, 1,113 prisoners were released in exchange for US $53 million in food and medicine.
- In 1961: 20% of the entire East German population defected to the West, including many of the professional class.
- In 1961: On June 12, 1987 US President Ronald Reagan told the Soviets, "Tear down this wall!". Two years later they did.
- In 1961: On June 16 Russian ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev requests asylum in France while in Paris with the Kirov Ballet.
- In 1961: On July 31 At Fenway Park in Boston, the first Major League Baseball All-Star Game tie occurs, when the game is stopped in the 9th inning due to rain (the only tie until 2002).
- In 1961: On August 17th, the East Germans and the Soviets began construction of the Berlin Wall to be 87 miles long when completed. Over the years an estimated 5000+ refugees escaped over or under the wall, while 138 people died.
- In 1961: Top movies included "West Side Story and "The Parent Trap".
- In 1961: Also, "Babes In Toyland" was created by Walt Disney and was the first live action musical to be produced by the company.
- In 1961: Betty and Barney Hill claimed to be abducted and examined by aliens in Lancaster, New Hampshire.
- In 1961: The New York Yankees won the World Series.
- In 1961: IBM introduced its Golf Ball Typewriter.
- In 1961: Pampers, the first disposable diaper was introduced in the United States.
