WHAT ALL HAPPENED JANUARY TO APRIL 1961
Find out what all happened January to April 1961

In Washington, D.C. John F. Kennedy delivers the first live presidential television news conference. (25. January 1961)

The United States Air Forces begins Operation Looking Glass, and over the next 30 years, a "Doomsday Plane" is always in the air, with the capability of taking direct control of the United States' bombers and missiles in the event of the destruction of the SAC's command post. (3. February 1961)

Soviet Union launches Venera 1 towards Venus. (12. February 1961)

U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower delivers a televised farewell address to the nation three days before leaving office, in which he warns against the accumulation of power by the "military-industrial complex" as well as the dangers of massive spending, especially deficit spending. (17. January 1961)

In France a referendum supports Charles de Gaulle's policies in Algeria. (8. January 1961)

A large explosion on board the MV Dara in the Persian Gulf kills 238. (8. April 1961)

South Africa withdraws from the Commonwealth of Nations. (15. March 1961)

The DuSable Museum of African American History is chartered. (16. February 1961)

Former Congolese Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba is murdered in circumstances suggesting the support and complicity of the governments of Belgium and the United States. (17. January 1961)

Discovery of the chemical elements: Element 103, Lawrencium, is first synthesized at the University of California. (14. February 1961)

The Pacific Electric Railway in Los Angeles, once the largest electric railway in the world, ends operations. (9. April 1961)

Uganda becomes self-governing and holds its first elections. (1. March 1961)

Algiers putsch by French generals. (23. April 1961)

First Winter Ascent of the Eiger north face. (12. March 1961)

A core explosion and meltdown at the SL-1, a government-run reactor near Idaho Falls, Idaho, kills three workers. (3. January 1961)

American President John F. Kennedy establishes the Peace Corps. (1. March 1961)

The Portuguese luxury cruise ship Santa Maria is hijacked by opponents of the Estado Novo regime with the intention of waging war until dictator António de Oliveira Salazar is overthrown. (23. January 1961)

1961 Goldsboro B-52 crash: A bomber carrying two H-bombs breaks up in mid-air over North Carolina. The uranium core of one weapon remains lost. (24. January 1961)

An allegedly 500,000-year-old rock is discovered near Olancha, California, US, that appears to anachronistically encase a spark plug. (13. February 1961)

Sabena Flight 548 crashes in Belgium, killing 73, including the entire United States figure skating team, several coaches and family members. (15. February 1961)