Free Trade
Passes the Trade Expansion Act to try & establish an Atlantic Free Trade Zone
Permanent historical records · Updated 2026-11-03
1961 in United States of America — Page 8
Explore 334 historical events and records for United States of America in 1961.
Historical records for United States of America in 1961
Sorted by month and day. Records with no month are shown last. Showing 40 of 334 unique records.
334Unique records
8 of 9Page
25Named events on this page
24Named people on this page
6Places on this page
Other events (month unknown)
General
Appointed special military adviser to President Kennedy
General
Appointed special military adviser to President Kennedy
General Counsel to the Pentagon
Appointed General Counsel to the Pentagon
General Counsel to the Pentagon
Appointed General Counsel to the Pentagon
Gerde's Folk City
Performs at Gerde's Folk City during his early New York breakthrough.
Gerdes Folk City
Plays at Gerdes Folk City
Government
Breaks off diplomatic relations with Cuba
Government
Appointed Secretary of State for Commerce
Government
Appointed Secretary of State for Health, Education & Welfare
Government
Appointed Secretary of State
Government
Appointed Secretary of State for the Interior
Hello Mary Lou
Ricky Nelson has a hit with Pitneys "Hello Mary Lou". 1st success as a songwriter with "Rubber Ball," a Top 10 hit for Bobby Vee
Independent Anti-Castro Venture Reporting
Federal agencies tracked independent anti-Castro ventures in Florida in which Sturgis appeared as a recurring contact, participant, or subject of reporting.
Interpen
The first Interpen training camp is established by Gerald Patrick Hemming with Dick Watley and Ed Colby running the camp
Interpen
The first Interpen training camp is established by Gerald Patrick Hemming with Dick Watley and Ed Colby running the camp
Interpen
Hemming was a leader of Interpen, or Intercontinental Penetration Force, a group of anti-Castro guerrillas who trained at No Name Key in the early 1960. Hemming joined an American effort to overthrow the Batista regime through the efforts of Fidel Castro.
Interpen
The Interpen group of experienced soldiers are involved in training members of the anti-Castro groups funded by the CIA in Florida in the early 1960s.
Interpen
When Castro proved to be a Communist, and subjected some Americans to firing squads, most Americans "switched sides" and this included Gerry Patrick Hemming, who, in 1961, established Interpen as a means to attack and weaken the Castro regime
Interpen
The first Interpen training camp is established by Gerald Patrick Hemming with Dick Watley and Ed Colby running the camp
Invasion of Cuba
Allen Dulles later stated, CIA planners believed that once the troops were on the ground, Kennedy would authorize any action required to prevent failure as Eisenhower had done in Guatemala in 1954 after that invasion looked as if it would collapse.
John Birch Society
Accused of indoctrinating his troops with right-wing literature from the John Birch Society
London Gold Pool
The United States joins European central banks in pooling gold to defend the official price.
Military Aid
Reccomends a "hard hitting operation" to support President Diem
Minuteman
Announces doubled Minuteman production
Mobilization
Kennedy accepts Balls reccomendation to increase the Saigon Army by 20,000
Mobilization
Reccomends sending 8,000 troops to Vietnam
Mobilization
US backing includes new equipment and more than 3,000 military advisers
Moon Landing
"The goal, before the decade is out, of landing a man on the moon"
NATO Nuclear Policy
Rusk supports consultation with NATO allies over nuclear strategy and alliance cohesion
Nobel Prize
Receives the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for research on carbon dioxide assimilation in plants and for elucidating the chemical pathway of photosynthesis.
Nuclear Power
B-52 & B-47 nuclear bombers placed on crisis footing & half are on a 15 minute alert. Announces doubled Minuteman production
Polaris
Announces the Polaris building program will be doubled for the year
Polaris
Kennedy announces that the Polaris submarine missile building program will be doubled for the year
Polaris
McNamara supports expansion of Polaris as part of a flexible and survivable strategic nuclear force
Polaris Patrols
Kennedy administration policy treats Polaris submarines as a central part of the American strategic deterrent
Post-Bay of Pigs Reassignment
After the Bay of Pigs failure, Hunt was reassigned within CIA as the Agency reviewed the operation and reorganized responsibilities.
Postmaster General
Appointed Postmaster General
Rubber Ball
Ricky Nelson has a hit with Pitneys "Hello Mary Lou". 1st success as a songwriter with "Rubber Ball," a Top 10 hit for Bobby Vee
Secretary of Airforce
Appointed Secretary of the Airforce
How these records were prepared
Generated from the World History Database historical_events table. Identical display records are collapsed; descriptions otherwise retain the stored text. Coverage and source quality vary. Check primary and specialist sources before citing individual historical claims.