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Events from the year 1961 in the United Kingdom.
Contents |
Incumbents
- Monarch - HM Queen Elizabeth II
- Prime Minister - Harold Macmillan, Conservative Party
Events
- 1 January - The farthing coin, used since the 13th century, ceases to be legal tender in the United Kingdom.
- 9 January - British authorities announce that they have discovered a large Soviet spy ring in London.
- 5 February - Sunday Telegraph first published.1
- 19 February - Police break up a demonstration outside the Belgian embassy in London protesting about the murder of the ex-Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Patrice Lumumba.2
- 13 March
- the five members of the Portland Spy Ring go on trial at the Old Bailey accused of passing nuclear secrets to the Soviet Union.3
- Black and white £5 notes cease to be legal tender.1
- 21 March - The Beatles perform at the legendary Cavern Club for the first time.
- 27 April - Sierra Leone gains independence from the UK.4
- 1 May - Betting shops are legalised.5
- 8 May - George Blake is sentenced to 42 years imprisonment for spying, having been found guilty of being a double agent who was in the pay of the Soviet Union.
- 28 May - Peter Benenson's article "The Forgotten Prisoners" is published in several internationally read newspapers. This will later be thought of as the founding of the human rights organization Amnesty International.
- 19 June - The British protectorate ends in Kuwait and it becomes an emirate.1
- 27 June
- Michael Ramsey enthroned as the 100th Archbishop of Canterbury.1
- Kuwait requests British help; the United Kingdom sends in troops.
- 21 July - the Runcorn Widnes Bridge (later known as the Silver Jubilee Bridge) over the River Mersey opened by Princess Alexandra.1
- 10 August - Britain applies for membership in the EEC.
- 16 August - The play "Lady Chatterley" by John Harte - based on D.H.Lawrence's novel - opened at The Arts Theatre in London and was well reviewed by west end theatre critic Harold Hobson.
- 23 August - Police launch a man hunt for the perpetrator of the A6 murder, who killed 36-year-old Michael Gregsten and paralysed his mistress Valerie Storie.6
- 4 September - James Pitman's Initial Teaching Alphabet tested in a number of schools.1
- 17 September - Police arrest over 1,300 protesters in Trafalgar Square during a CND rally.5
- 10 October - the population of the South Atlantic island of Tristan da Cunha evacuated to Britain because of a volcanic eruption.1
- 25 October - The first edition of Private Eye, the British satirical magazine, is published.1
- 27 November - Royal Air Force participates in air drops of food to flood victims in Somalia.7
- 4 December - Birth control pills become available on the National Health Service after their availability is backed by Health Minister Enoch Powell.8
- 9 December - Tanganyika gains independence from the UK.9
Undated
Publications
- Agatha Christie's novel The Pale Horse.
- Ian Fleming's James Bond novel Thunderball.
- Richard Hughes' novel The Fox in the Attic.
- Iris Murdoch's novel A Severed Head.
- Muriel Spark's novel The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.
- Evelyn Waugh's novel Unconditional Surrender, last of the Sword of Honour trilogy.
Births
January - April
- 1 January - Mark Wingett, British actor
- 12 January - Simon Russell Beale, British actor
- 13 January - Suggs, British singer (Madness)
- 31 January - Lloyd Cole, British singer and songwriter
- 16 February -Andy Taylor, British musician (Duran Duran)
- 20 February - Imogen Stubbs, British actress
- 24 February - John Grogan, British Labour politician
- 3 March - Fatima Whitbread, British javelin thrower and Olympic medalist
- 29 March - Michael Winterbottom, British filmmaker
- 14 April - Robert Carlyle, Scottish actor
- 17 April - Bella Freud, British fashion designer and columnist
- 18 April - Jane Leeves, English actress
- 20 April - Nicholas Lyndhurst, actor
May - August
- 2 May - Phil Vickery, British celebrity chef
- 8 May - Janet McTeer, British actress
- 12 May - Billy (William H) Duffy, English guitarist (The Cult)
- 14 May - Tim Roth, English actor
- 30 May - Harry Enfield, English comedian
- 5 June - Rosie Kane, member of Scottish Parliament
- 13 June - Bob Crow, British trade union leader
- 14 June - Boy George, English musician
- 15 June - Dave McAuley, Northern Irish boxer
- 25 June - Ricky Gervais, English comedian
- 27 June - Meera Syal, British comedian and writer
- 1 July - Diana, Princess of Wales (d. 1997)
- 17 July - Jeremy Hardy, English comedian, radio panelist, and singer
- 3 August - Nicholas Harvey, English politician
- 22 August - Roland Orzabal, English musician Tears for Fears)
September - December
- 13 September - Tom Holt, British author
- 22 September - Liam Fox, British Conservative politician and Shadow Defence Secretary
- 26 September - Will Self, English novelist, reviewer and columnist
- 3 November - David Armstrong-Jones, Viscount Linley, chairman of Christie's U.K. auction house
- 4 November - Nigel Worthington, Northern Irish footballer and football manager
- 9 November - Jill Dando, television newsreader (died 1999)
- 16 November - Frank Bruno, British boxer
- 20 November - Dave Watson, English footballer
- 26 November - Karan Bilimoria, Baron Bilimoria, British Asian entrepreneur and university chancellor
- 28 November - Martin Clunes, actor
- 11 December - Marco Pierre White, British chef and restaurateur
- 12 December
- Sarah Sutton, British actress
- Philip Parkin, Welsh golfer
- 19 December - Matthew Waterhouse, British actor
- 29 December - Jim Reid, Scottish musician
- December 31 — Sharon Gibson, English javelin thrower
Unknown dates
- Sexton Ming, British artist, poet and musician
- Graham Taylor, British clergyman and author
- Gerard Woodward, British novelist and poet
Deaths
- 26 January - Stan Nichols, English cricketer (born 1900)
- 6 March - George Formby, British singer, comedian and actor (born 1904)
- 8 March - Thomas Beecham, English conductor (born 1879)
- 7 April - Vanessa Bell, English artist and interior designer (born 1879)
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Penguin Pocket On This Day. Penguin Reference Library. 2006. ISBN 0-141-02715-0.
- ^ ""Lumumba rally clashes with UK police" BBC On This Day". Retrieved on 2008-02-10.
- ^ ""Five Britons accused of spying for Moscow" BBC On This Day". Retrieved on 2008-02-10.
- ^ ""Sierra Leone wins independence" BBC On This Day". Retrieved on 2008-02-10.
- ^ a b Palmer, Alan & Veronica (1992). The Chronology of British History. London: Century Ltd. ISBN 0-7126-5616-2.
- ^ ""Couple found shot in A6 lay-by" BBC On This Day". Retrieved on 2008-02-10.
- ^ ""RAF flies aid to flood-stricken Somalia" BBC On This Day". Retrieved on 2008-02-10.
- ^ ""Birth control pill available to all" BBC On This Day". Retrieved on 2008-02-10.
- ^ Tanzania entry at The World Factbook. Retrieved on 2008-02-10.
See also
- UK No.1 Hits of 1961
- List of Statutory Instruments of the United Kingdom, 1961
- Society of Film and Television Arts Television Awards 1961
