WHAT ALL HAPPENED MAY TO OCTOBER 1961
Find out what all happened May to October 1961

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert McNamara orders the creation of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), the nation's first centralized military espionage organization. (1. August 1961)

Jim Gentile of the Baltimore Orioles becomes the first player in baseball history to hit grand slams in consecutive innings. (9. May 1961)

In Moscow City Court, the Rokotov–Faibishenko show trial begins, despite the Khrushchev Thaw to reverse Stalinist elements in Soviet society. (31. May 1961)

A military coup in Damascus effectively ends the United Arab Republic, the union between Egypt and Syria. (28. September 1961)

East and West Cameroon merge to form the Federal Republic of Cameroon. (1. October 1961)

The Prime Minister of Cuba, Fidel Castro, proclaims Cuba a socialist nation and abolishes elections. (1. May 1961)

Hurricane Carla strikes Texas with winds of 175 miles per hour. (15. September 1961)

U.N. Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld dies in a plane crash while attempting to negotiate peace in the war-torn Katanga region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. (18. September 1961)

The Union of South Africa becomes the Republic of South Africa. (31. May 1961)

American civil rights movement: The "Freedom Riders" begin a bus trip through the South. (4. May 1961)

Cold War: the Antarctic Treaty, which sets aside Antarctica as a scientific preserve and bans military activity on the continent, comes into force after the opening date for signature set for the December 1, 1959. (23. June 1961)

Greek general Konstantinos Dovas becomes Prime Minister of Greece. (20. September 1961)

The long-time Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo is assassinated in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. (30. May 1961)

Cyprus joins the Council of Europe. (24. May 1961)

Rudolf Nureyev defects from the Soviet Union. (16. June 1961)

Apollo program: The U.S. President John F. Kennedy announces before a special joint session of the Congress his goal to initiate a project to put a "man on the Moon" before the end of the decade. (25. May 1961)

In the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin's body is removed from Vladimir Lenin's Tomb. (31. October 1961)

Pune floods due to failure of the Khadakwasla and Panshet dams. Half of Pune is submerged, more than 100,000 families need to be relocated and the death toll exceeds 2,000. (12. July 1961)

Mercury program: Mercury-Redstone 4 Mission – Gus Grissom piloting Liberty Bell 7 becomes the second American to go into space (in a suborbital mission). (21. July 1961)

Kuwait declares independence from the United Kingdom. (19. June 1961)