1961

• John F. Kennedy becomes President of the United States.
• The Fantastic Four make their debut.
• Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human in space.
• Sierra Leone becomes independent.
• The Berlin Wall is built.
• The Vietnam War begins.
• Bay of Pigs invasion
• Rockband Golden Earring was founded

• January 26 – Wayne Gretzky, Retired Canadian NHL player
• January 28 – Arnaldur Indridason, Icelandic writer
• February 13 – Henry Rollins, American musician and activist (Black Flag)
• March 3 – John Matteson, Pulitzer Prize-winning American biographer
• April 1 – Susan Boyle, Scottish singer
• May 6 – George Clooney, American actor
• June 4 – Ferenc Gyurcsany, former Prime Minister of Hungary
• June 9 – Michael J. Fox, Canadian actor
• June 14 – Boy George, British singer
• June 18 – Alison Moyet, British singer
• June 25 – Ricky Gervais, British comedian and actor
• July 1 – Diana, Princess of Wales (d. 1997)
• July 1 – Carl Lewis, American athlete
• July 23 – Woody Harrelson, American actor
• July 30 – Laurence Fishburne, American actor
• July 31 - Peter O'Brien, American drummer (Orleans)
• August 4 – Barack Obama, President of the United States of America
• August 8 – The Edge, Irish musician (U2)
• August 9 – John Key, Prime Minister of New Zealand
• September 28 - George Rossi, Scottish actor (d. 2022)
• September 29 – Julia Gillard, Prime Minister of Australia
• October 11 – Amr Diab, Egyptian singer
• October 25 - Chad Smith, American drummer (Red Hot Chili Peppers)
• October 26 – Uhuru Kenyatta, President of Kenya
• November 12 – Nadia Comaneci, Romanian gymnast
• November 19 – Meg Ryan, American actress
• November 24 – Arundhati Roy, Indian activist and writer
• December 24 – Ilham Aliyev, President of Azerbaijan
• December 25 – Ingrid Betancourt, Colombian senator
• December 27 – Guido Westerwelle, German politician
• December 30 – Ben Johnson, Canadian athlete

• January 4 – Erwin Schroedinger, Austrian physicist (b. 1887)
• January 9 – Emily Greene Balch, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1867)
• January 17 – Patrice Lumumba, Congolese politician (b. 1925)
• February 3 – Viscount Dunrossil, Australian Governor-General (b. 1893)
• February 9 – Carlos Luz, 19th President of Brazil (b. 1894)
• March 3 – Paul Wittgenstein, Austrian-born pianist (b. 1887)
• March 23 – Valentin Bondarenko, Russian cosmonaut (b. 1937)
• April 9 – Ahmet Zog, King of Albania (b. 1895)
• May 30 – Rafael Leónidas Trujillo, President of the Dominican Republic (b. 1891)
• June 6 – Carl Jung, Swiss psychiatrist (b. 1875)
• July 2 – Ernest Hemingway, American writer (b. 1899)
• August 20 – Percy Williams Bridgman, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1882)
• September 10 – Wolfgang von Trips, German racing driver (b. 1928)
• September 18 – Dag Hammarskioeld, UN Secretary-General (b. 1905)
• October 30 – Luigi Einaudi, Italian politician (b. 1874)
• November 9 – Ferdinand Bie, Norwegian athlete (b. 1888)
• December 20 – Earle Page, 11th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1880)

• Nobel Prize in Physics won by Robert Hofstadter, American physicist, and Rudolf Mössbauer, German physicist
• Nobel Prize in Chemistry won by Melvin Calvin, American biochemist
• Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine won by Georg von Békésy, Hungarian biophysicist
• Nobel Prize in Literature won by Ivo Andrić, Yugoslav novelist, poet and short story writer
• Nobel Peace Prize won by Dag Hammarskjöld (posthumously), Swedish diplomat

• 101 Dalmatians, an animated movie
• The Absent-Minded Professor by Walt Disney Productions
• Breakfast at Tiffany's starring Audrey Hepburn
• El Cid starring Charlton Heston and Sophia Loren
• La Dolce Vita starring Marcello Mastroianni and Anita Ekberg
• The Guns of Navarone with Gregory Peck and Anthony Quinn
• The Hustler starring Paul Newman and Jackie Gleason
• Lover Come Back starring Doris Day and Rock Hudson
• The Parent Trap starring Hayley Mills
• West Side Story winning 10 Academy Awards

• "I Fall to Pieces" – Patsy Cline
• "Crazy" – Patsy Cline
• "Where the Boys Are" – Connie Francis
• "Running Scared" – Roy Orbison
• "Crying" – Roy Orbison
• "(I Wanna) Love My Life Away" – Gene Pitney
• "Town Without Pity" – Gene Pitney
• "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" – The Tokens
• "Calcutta" – Lawrence Welk
• "Runaround Sue" – Dion
• "Let's Go Trippin'" – Dick Dale's first local hit, regarded as first surf rock instrumental
• "Tossin' & Turnin' " – Bobby Lewis
• "Runaway" – Del Shannon
• "Garde-Moi la Dernière Danse" – Dalida
• "Nuits d'Espagne" – Dalida
• "Blue Moon" – The Marcels
• "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" – The Shirelles
• "There's No Other Like My Baby" – The Crystals' first hit
• "Please Mr. Postman" – The Marvelettes
• "Quarter To Three" – Gary U.S. Bonds
• "Shop Around" – The Miracles
• "Travelin' Man" – Ricky Nelson
• "Hello Mary Lou" – Ricky Nelson
• "Stand By Me" – Ben E. King
• "The Wanderer" – Dion
• "The Mountain's High" – Dick and Deedee
• "Big River, Big Man" – Claude King
• "The Commancheros" – Claude King
• "Moody River" – Pat Boone
• "I Love How You Love Me" – The Paris Sisters

• Border Country – Raymond Williams
• Casanova's Chinese Restaurant – Anthony Powell
• The Chapman Report – Irving Wallace
• Clea – Lawrence Durrell

• Don't Tell Alfred – Nancy Mitford

• For Your Eyes Only – Ian Fleming
• Green Eggs and Ham – Dr. Seuss
• Hunters in a Narrow Street – Jabra Ibrahim Jabra
• The Insolences of Brother Anonymous – Jean-Paul Desbiens
• The Many Colored Coat – Morley Callaghan
• Take a Girl Like You – Kingsley Amis
• To Kill A Mockingbird – Harper Lee
• The Torch – Wilder Penfield
• The Violent Bear It Away – Flannery O'Connor
• The White Stone – Carlo Coccioli
• What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? – Henry Farrell

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1961 in sports