WHAT HAPPENED IN 1961.
Look what happened the 1961.

The United States severs diplomatic relations with Cuba. (3. January 1961)

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

In Finland's worst civilian aviation accident an Aero Flight 311 crashes near Kvevlax, resulting in the deaths of all 25 people aboard. (3. January 1961)

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

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)

435 workers are buried alive when a mine in Coalbrook, Free State collapses. (21. January 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)

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

John F. Kennedy appoints Janet G. Travell to be his physician. This is the first time a woman holds the appointment of Physician to the President. (26. January 1961)

Soviet submarine S-80 sinks with all hands lost. (27. January 1961)

Project Mercury: Mercury-Redstone 2 – Ham the Chimp travels into outer space. (31. 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)

A protest by agricultural workers in Baixa de Cassanje, Portuguese Angola, turns into a revolt, opening the Angolan War of Independence, the first of the Portuguese Colonial Wars. (3. February 1961)

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

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

Explorer program: Explorer 9 (S-56a) is launched. (16. February 1961)