World news events

  • President Kennedy establishes Peace Corps
  • Cuban exiles fail in their bid to invade Cuba through the Bay of Pigs; President Kennedy accepts responsibility
  • Soviets build wall dividing East and West Berlin
  • Nazi leader Adolf Eichmann tried in Israel, found guilty
  • Tanganyika Becomes independent
  • Kuwait gains Independence

Science & Technology

  • Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becomes first human in space during a single-orbit flight
  • Commander Alan Shephard Jr. becomes first American in space in a suborbital flight aboard Mercury 3; Virgil Grissom follows in similar fashion two months later
  • Soviet space probe Venera 1 becomes the first man-made vehicle to reach another planet when it arrives at Venus
  • First lasers developed
  • Anthropologists Louis and Mary Leakey discover Homo habilis in the Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania

Sports

  • NBA: Boston Celtics vs. St. Louis Hawks Series: 4-1
  • NCAA Football: Alabama & Ohio State Records: 11-0-0 & 8-0-1
  • Heisman Trophy: Ernie Davis, syracuse, HB points: 824
  • Stanley Cup: Chicago Blackhawks vs. Detroit Red Wings Series: 4-2
  • US Open Golf: Gene Littler Score: 281 Course: Oakland Hills CC Location: Birmingham, MI
  • World Series: New York Yankees vs. Cincinnati Reds Series: 4-1

Movies

  • The Guns of Navarone
  • The Absent-Minded Professor
  • The Parent Trap
  • Swiss Family Robinson
  • Exodus
  • The World of Suzie Wong
  • Alamo
  • Gone With the Wind (reissue)
  • 101 Dalmations
  • Splendor in the Grass

         Academy Awards

  • Best Picture: "West Side Story"
  • Best Director: Robert Wise & Jerome Robbins ... "West Side Story"
  • Best Actor: Maximilian Schell ... "Judgement at Nuremberg"
  • Best Actress: Sophia Loren ... "Two Women"

Most Popular Books

Fiction
1."The Agony and the Ecstasy"... Irving Stone. Doubleday
2."Franny and Zooey"...J. D. Salinger. Little, Brown
3."To Kill a Mockin '-bird"... Harper Lee. Lippincott
4."Mila 18" ... Leon Uris. Doubleday
5."The Carpetbaggers"... Harold Robbins. Simon & Schuster
6."Tropic of Cancer" ... Henry Miller. Grove Press
7."Winnie Ille Pu"... translated by Alexander Lenard. Dutton
8."Daughter of Silence"... Morris West. Morrow
9."The Edge of Sadness"...Edwin O'Connor. Little, Brown
10. "The Winter of Our Discontent"...John Steinbeck. Viking Press
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Nonfiction
1."The New English Bible: The New Testament"... Cambridge University Press and Oxford University Press
2."The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" ... William Shirer. Simon & Schuster
3."Better Homes and Gardens Sewing Book"... Meredith Publishing Co.
4."Casserole Cook Book"... Meredith Publishing Co.
5."A Nation of Sheep" ...William Lederer. Norton
6."Better Homes and Gardens Nutrition for Your Family"... Meredith Publishing Co.
7."The Making of the President, 1960"... Theodore H. White. Atheneum Press
8."Calories Don't Count"...Dr. Herman Taller. Simon & Schuster
9."Betty Crocker's New Picture Cook Book: New Edition"... McGraw-Hill
10. "Ring of Bright Water"... Gavin Maxwell. Dutton
 

Music

1. At Last - Etta James
2. Crazy - Patsy Cline
3. Let's Twist Again - Chubby Checker
4. Bristol Stomp - Dovells
5. Please Mr. Postman - Marveletts
6. Hit The Road Jack - Ray Charles
7. Stand By Me - Ben E. King
8. Runaround Sue - Dion
9. The Lion Sleeps Tonight - the Tokens
10. Tossin and Turnin - Bobby Lewis
11. Pretty Little Angel Eyes - Curtis Lee
12. Shop Around - the Miracles
13. Some Kind Of Wonderful - the Drifters
14. Blue Moon - Marcels
15. Daddy's Home - Shep & the Limelites
16. There's A Moon Out Tonight - Capris
17. Runaway - Del Shannon
18. A Little Bit Of Soap - Jarmels
19. Cupid - Sam Cooke 
20. Quarter To Three - Gary U.S. Bonds
21. Barbara-Ann - the Regents
22. Travelin' Man - Ricky Nelson
23. Dedicated To The One I Love - Shirelles
24. Hello Mary Lou - Ricky Nelson
25. Where The Boys Are - Connie Francis
26. Take Good Care of My Baby - Bobby Vee
27. Please Love Me Forever - Cathy Jean & the Roommates
28. Spanish Harlem - Ben E. King
29. Mother In Law - Ernie K. Doe
30. Crying - Roy Orbison
31. Raindrops - Dee Clark
32. I Fall to Pieces - Patsy Cline
33. Let There Be Drums - Sandy Nelson
34. Who Put The Bomp (In The Bomp, Bomp, Bomp) - Barry Mann
35. Running Scared - Roy Orbison
36. Ya Ya - Lee Dorsey
37. Pony Time - Chubby Checker
38. I Love How You Love Me - the Paris Sisters
39. Big Bad John - Jimmy Dean
40. (Ghost) Riders In The Sky - the Ramrods

 

         Grammy Awards

  • Record of the Year: "Moon River" ... Henry Mancini
  • Song of the Year: "Moon River" ... Henry Mancini
  • Album of the Year: "Judy at Carnegie Hall" ... Judy Garland
  • Male Vocalist: Jack Jones ... "Lollipops and Roses"
  • Female Vocalist: Judy Garland ... "Judy at Carnegie Hall"

 

 Number One Song according to Billboard Magazine:

November 28, 1960 - January 8, 1961: Are You Lonesome Tonight? - Elvis Presley
January 9 - January 29: Wonderland By Night Bert Kaempfert
January 30 - February 12: Will You Love Me Tomorrow The Shirelles
February 13 - February 26: Calcutta Lawrence Welk
February 27 - March 19: Pony Time Chubby Checker
March 20 - April 2: Surrender Elvis Presley
April 3 - April 23: Blue Moon The Marcels
April 24 - May 21: Runaway Del Shannon
May 22 - May 28: Mother-In-Law Ernie K-Doe
May 29 - June 4: Travelin' Man Ricky Nelson
June 5 - June 18: Running Scared Roy Orbison
June 19 - June 25: Moody River Pat Boone
June 26 - July 9: Quarter To Three Gary U.S. Bonds
July 10 - August 27: August Tossin' And Turnin' Bobby Lewis
August 28 - September 3: Wooden Heart Joe Dowell
September 4 - September 17: Michael The Highwaymen
September 18 - October 8: Take Good Care Of My Baby Bobby Vee
October 9 - October 22: Hit The Road Jack Ray Charles
October 23 - November 5: Runaround Sue Dion
November 6 - December 10: Big Bad John Jimmy Dean
December 11 - December 17: Please Mr. Postman The Marvelettes
December 18, 1961 - January 12, 1962: The Lion Sleeps Tonight The Tokens