1961

1961 was a year:

Events

 * 20 January – John Fitzgerald Kennedy becomes President of the USA.
 * 12 April – Soviet spacecraft Vostok 1, carrying Yuri Gagarin inside, flies in Earth orbit making him the first Human space traveller.
 * 5 May – American spacecraft Mercury–Redstone 3, carrying Alan Shepard inside, flies in Earth sub orbit making him the first American space traveller.
 * 13 August – The Berlin Wall is built overnight by East Germany, sepaating East Berlin and West Berlin.