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1961
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World Events
- US breaks diplomatic relations with Cuba (Jan. 3).
- 1,200 US-sponsored anti-Castro exiles invade Cuba at the Bay of Pigs (April 17); the attackers are all killed or captured by Cuban forces.
- East Germany erects the Berlin Wall between East and West Berlin to halt flood of refugees (Aug. 13). Background: The Cold War
- USSR detonates 50-megaton hydrogen bomb in the largest man-made explosion in history (Oct. 29). Background: nuclear weapons
- There are 2,000 US military advisers in South Vietnam. Background: Vietnam War
- OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) formally constituted.
U.S. Events
Economics
US GDP (1998 dollars): $544.8 billion Federal spending: $97.72 billion Federal debt: $292.6 billion Consumer Price Index: 29.9 Unemployment: 5.5% Cost of a first-class stamp: $0.04
Sports
World SeriesNY Yankees d. Cincinnati (4-1)NBA ChampionshipBoston d. St. Louis Hawks (4-1)Stanley CupChicago d. Detroit (4-2)WimbledonWomen: Angela Mortimer d. C. Truman (4-6 6-4 7-5) Men: Rod Laver d. C. McKinley (6-3 6-1 6-4)Kentucky Derby ChampionCarry BackNCAA Basketball ChampionshipCincinnati d. Ohio St. (70-65 OT)NCAA Football ChampionsAlabama (AP, UPI, NFF) (11-0-0) & Ohio St. (FW) (8-0-1)
Entertainment
Entertainment Awards
Pulitzer Prizes Fiction: To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee Music: Symphony No. 7, Walter Piston Drama: All the Way Home, Tad Mosel Oscars awarded in 1961 Academy Award, Best Picture: The Apartment, Billy Wilder, producer (United Artists) Nobel Prize for Literature: Ivo Andric (Yugoslavia) 1961 Emmy Awards 1961 Tony Awards Grammys awarded in 1961 Record of the Year: "Theme From A Summer Place," Percy Faith Album of the Year: Button Down Mind, Bob Newhart (Warner Bros.) Song of the Year: "Theme From Exodus," Ernest Gold, songwriter Miss America: Nancy Fleming (MI) More Entertainment Awards...
Events- Patsy Cline releases "I Fall to Pieces" and "Crazy." The success of the songs help her cross over from country to pop.
- West Side Story is adapted for the big screen, and will go on to win Oscars for Best Picture, Supporting Actor (George Chakiris), Supporting Actress (Rita Moreno), and Directing (Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins).
- Audrey Hepburn delights as Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany's, but Henry Mancini emerges as the real star. He won two Oscars and four Grammy Awards for the score, which included the hit "Moon River."
Movies- West Side Story, The Hustler, Judgment at Nuremberg, La Dolce Vita
Music- Patsy Cline, "I Fall to Pieces" and "Crazy"
Books
Science
Nobel Prizes in Science
Chemistry: Melvin Calvin (US), for establishing chemical steps during photosynthesis Physics: Robert Hofstadter (US), for determination of shape and size of atomic nucleus; Rudolf Mössbauer (Germany), for method of producing and measuring recoil-free gamma rays Physiology or Medicine: Georg von Bekesy (US), for discoveries about physical mechanisms of stimulation within cochlea
Deaths
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