WHAT HAPPENED IN 1961.
Look what happened the 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)

In the Vienna summit, the Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev sparks the Berlin Crisis by threatening to sign a separate peace treaty with East Germany and ending American, British and French access to East Berlin. (4. June 1961)

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

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

Turkish voters approve the Turkish Constitution of 1961 in a referendum. (9. July 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)

Tunisia imposes a blockade on the French naval base at Bizerte; the French would capture the entire town four days later. (19. July 1961)

French military forces break the Tunisian siege of Bizerte. (20. 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)

The Sandinista National Liberation Front is founded in Nicaragua. (23. July 1961)

In a speech John F. Kennedy emphasizes that any attack on Berlin is an attack on NATO. (25. July 1961)

At Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts, the first All-Star Game tie in Major League Baseball history occurs when the game is stopped in the 9th inning because of rain. (31. July 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)

The New Democratic Party of Canada is founded by the merger of the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation and the Canadian Labour Congress. (3. August 1961)

First use in Vietnam War of the Agent Orange by the U.S. Army. (10. August 1961)

The former Portuguese territories in India of Dadra and Nagar Haveli are merged to create the Union Territory Dadra and Nagar Haveli. (11. August 1961)

East Germany closes the border between the eastern and western sectors of Berlin to thwart its inhabitants' attempts to escape to the West. (13. August 1961)

Border guard Conrad Schumann flees from East Germany while on duty guarding the construction of the Berlin Wall. (15. August 1961)

Motown releases what would be its first #1 hit, "Please Mr. Postman" by The Marvelettes. (21. August 1961)