Historical Events
- 22nd Venice Film Festival: "Last Year at Marienbad" directed by Alain Resnais wins Golden Lion
- East Germany begins erecting 5' high wall along the border with the west to replace the barbed wire put up Aug 13
- Philadelphia Phillies beat Milwaukee Braves, 7-4 at County Stadium; end losing streak with dubious MLB record of 23 straight loses
Famous Birthdays
- Greg Egan, Australian science fiction and hard science author, born in Perth, Australia
- Joe Pasquale, English comedian and TV personality (King of the Jungle - I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!), born in Grays, Essex, England
- Linda Mantz, American actress (Frankie-Dorothy), born in New York City
Famous Deaths
- Percy Williams Bridgman, American physicist (Nobel 1946 - physics of high pressure), dies at 79
- Vilhjalmur Stefansson, Canadian-American Arctic explorer and ethnologist, dies at 82
Died in 1961 1961 Highlights
About August 20, 1961
Day of the Week: Sunday
How Long Ago? 62 years and 8 months
Leap Year: No
Generation: Baby Boomer
Chinese Zodiac: Ox
Star Sign: Leo
Music Charts
#1 Song: Wooden Heart - Joe Dowell
#1 Song: You Don't Know - Helen Shapiro
