1961 in the United Kingdom UK-related events during the year of 1961
Events from the year 1961 in the United Kingdom
Incumbents
Events
1 January
7 January
5 February – The Sunday Telegraph [ 5]
9 February – The Beatles at The Cavern Club : Lunchtime – The Beatles perform under this name at The Cavern Club for the first time following their return to Liverpool from Hamburg , George Harrison 's first appearance at the venue. On 21 March they begin regular performances here; in June/July Stu Sutcliffe leaves the group; and on 9 November their future manager Brian Epstein sees them for the first time at The Cavern.
19 February – Police break up a demonstration outside the Belgian embassy in London protesting about the murder of the ex-Congolese Prime Minister, Patrice Lumumba .[ 6]
8 March – Edwin Bush is arrested in London for the capital stabbing of Mrs. Elsie May Batten (for which he will be convicted and hanged). He is the first British criminal identified by the Identikit facial composite system.
9 March – "Water towers" speech: The Minister of Health , Enoch Powell , in a speech to a Conservative Party conference, proposes closing down of large, traditional psychiatric hospitals in favour of more community-based care.[ 7]
13 March
15 March – The Jaguar E-Type , a sports car capable of reaching speeds of 150 mph, is launched as a two-seater roadster or 2+2 coupé (at the Geneva Motor Show).[ 9]
20 March – Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon , becomes the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and its company the Royal Shakespeare Company (Peter Hall (director) ).[ 10]
1 April – The schoolboy character Winker Watson is introduced in The Dandy
17 April – Tottenham Hotspur win the Football League First Division for the second time, with a 2–1 win over Sheffield Wednesday , an achievement they do not repeat.[ 11]
27 April – Sierra Leone gains independence from the UK.[ 12]
1 May
2 May – The United Kingdom becomes a member of the OECD .[ 15]
6 May – Tottenham Hotspur becomes the first English football team this century, and only the third in history, to win the double of the league title and FA Cup , with a 2–0 victory over Leicester City in the FA Cup Final .[ 16] Aston Villa in 1897.)
8 May – George Blake is sentenced to 42 years imprisonment for spying, having been found guilty of being a double agent in the pay of the Soviet Union , the longest non-life sentence ever handed down by a British court.
17 May – Consecration of Guildford Cathedral .[ 17]
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 organisation Amnesty International .
8 June – Prince Edward, Duke of Kent , marries Katharine Worsley at York Minster .
14 June – The Government unveils new "panda" crossings with push button controls for pedestrians, due to concerns about the increasing volume of traffic. The new crossings first appear on British streets in April 1962.[ 18]
19 June – The British protectorate ends in Kuwait and it becomes an emirate .[ 5]
27 June
4 July – Barclays open their "No. 1 Computer Centre" in Drummond Street, London , with an EMI mainframe computer , Britain's first bank with an in-house computing centre.[ 19] [ 20]
8 July – At an all-British women's final to The Championships, Wimbledon in tennis , Angela Mortimer beats Christine Truman .[ 21]
21 July – The Runcorn Widnes Bridge (later known as the Silver Jubilee Bridge) over the River Mersey opened by Princess Alexandra .[ 5]
25 July
3 August – Suicide Act 1961 decriminalises acts of, or attempts at suicide in England and Wales.
10 August – The UK applies for membership of the EEC .
16 August – The play Lady Chatterley by John Harte – based on D. H. Lawrence's novel – opens at the Arts Theatre in London and is well-reviewed by West End theatre critic Harold Hobson.
19–20 August – Race riots in Middlesbrough .[ 22]
21 August – Goya 's Portrait of the Duke of Wellington National Gallery in London, three weeks after first going on display there, intended as ransom in Kempton Bunton 's campaign for free television licences for pensioners. It is returned 4 years later.
23 August – Police launch a manhunt for the perpetrator of the A6 murder , who shot dead 36-year-old Michael Gregsten and paralysed Valerie Storie.[ 23]
25 August – Murder of Jacqueline Thomas : Police in Birmingham launch a murder inquiry after the strangled body of a missing teenager is found on an allotment in the Alum Rock area of the city. The probable murderer is not identified until 2007 but cannot be tried.[ 24]
31 August – Premiere of the film Victim homosexual ".[ 25]
4 September – James Pitman 's Initial Teaching Alphabet is tested in a number of schools.[ 5]
14 September
16 September – Three people die and 35 are injured when a stand collapses during a Glasgow Rangers football match at Ibrox Park .[ 27]
17 September – Police arrest over 1,300 protesters in Trafalgar Square during a CND rally.[ 13]
October – Acker Bilk 's clarinet instrumental "Stranger on the Shore " is released.
1 October – Religious programme Songs of Praise BBC Television ; it will still be running sixty years later.
9 October – Skelmersdale , a small Lancashire town fifteen miles north-east of Liverpool , is designated as a new town and its population will expand over the coming years, bolstered by large council housing developments to rehouse families from inner city slums on Merseyside .[ 28]
10 October – A volcanic eruption on the South Atlantic British overseas territory of Tristan da Cunha causes the island's entire population to be evacuated to Surrey , where they will remain until 1963.[ 5]
25 October – The first edition of Private Eye [ 5]
8 November – In a referendum on Sunday opening of public houses in Wales , the counties of Anglesey , Cardiganshire , Caernarfonshire , Carmarthenshire , Denbighshire , Merionethshire , Montgomeryshire and Pembrokeshire all vote to stay "dry", that is, opposed to the Sunday sale of alcohol.
9 November – At the Lyceum Theatre, London , Miss United Kingdom , Welsh -born Rosemarie Frankland , becomes the first British winner of the Miss World beauty pageant .
27 November – The RAF participates in air drops of food to flood victims in Somalia .[ 29]
4 December – Birth control pills become available on the NHS after their availability is backed by Health Minister Enoch Powell .[ 30]
9 December – Tanganyika gains independence from the United Kingdom.[ 31]
Undated
Publications
Births
1 January
2 January – Neil Dudgeon , English actor
6 January – Peter Whittle , British politician, author, journalist and broadcaster[ 34]
8 January – Keith Arkell , English chess player
11 January – Jasper Fforde , fantasy novelist
12 January
13 January
16 January – Peter Tanfield , concert violinist
18 January – Peter Beardsley , English footballer and football coach
19 January – Wayne Hemingway , English designer
20 January – Janey Godley , Scottish comedian and writer (died 2024)
27 January – Gillian Gilbert , new wave keyboard player
31 January – Lloyd Cole , English rock singer-songwriter
14 February – Alison Saunders , Director of Public Prosecutions (England and Wales)
16 February – Andy Taylor , English rock guitarist and musician (Duran Duran )
17 February
19 February – Justin Fashanu , black British footballer (suicide 1998)
20 February – Imogen Stubbs , British actress
24 February – John Grogan , British Labour politician
1 March – Michael Sundin , trampolinist and television presenter (died 1989)
3 March – Fatima Whitbread , British javelin thrower and Olympic medallist[ 35]
12 March – Betty Sworowski , English racewalker
14 March – Marc Koska , English businessman and inventor
22 March – Giles Worsley , English architectural historian (died 2006)
26 March – William Hague , British statesman
27 March – Ellery Hanley , English rugby league footballer and coach
29 March – Michael Winterbottom , British filmmaker
1 April
3 April – Edward Highmore , English actor
6 April – Rory Bremner , impressionist, comedian and playwright
10 April – Nicky Campbell , broadcaster
11 April – Nigel Pulsford , rock guitarist and musician (Bush )
14 April – Robert Carlyle , Scottish actor
16 April – Linda Ruth Williams , film studies academic
17 April – Bella Freud , British fashion designer and columnist
18 April – Jane Leeves , English-born actress
19 April – Richard Phelps , English pentathlete
20 April – Nicholas Lyndhurst , English actor
28 April – Grenville Davey , English sculptor
2 May
4 May
7 May – Sue Black , forensic anthropologist
8 May – Janet McTeer , actress
12 May – Billy Duffy , English hard rock guitarist (The Cult )
14 May
15 May – Katrin Cartlidge , actress (died 2002)
20 May – Clive Allen , footballer
28 May – Roland Gift , rock singer (Fine Young Cannibals )
30 May – Harry Enfield , English comedian
3 June – Ed Wynne , psychedelic rock guitarist (Ozric Tentacles )
5 June – Rosie Kane , member of Scottish Parliament
6 June – George Mountbatten, 4th Marquess of Milford Haven , English polo player and businessman
10 June – Maxi Priest , born Max Elliott, reggae singer
12 June – Angie Hobbs , philosopher
13 June – Bob Crow , trade union leader (died 2014)
14 June – Boy George (O'Dowd), English new wave singer-songwriter
15 June – Dave McAuley , Northern Irish boxer
17 June – Muslimgauze , ethnic electronica and experimental musician (died 1999)
18 June – Alison Moyet , English new wave singer-songwriter
22 June
24 June
25 June – Ricky Gervais , English comedian
26 June – Margaret McDonagh, Baroness McDonagh , politician (died 2023)
27 June
1 July
3 July – Suzanne Dando , English Olympic gymnast
5 July – Gareth Jones , Welsh television presenter
8 July – Andy Fletcher , English musician (died 2022)
10 July
12 July – Mark McGann , English actor, director, writer and musician
17 July – Jeremy Hardy , English comedian and broadcaster (died 2019)
24 July – Vicki Pepperdine , English comedy actress and writer
26 July – David Heyman , English film producer (Heyday Films )
31 July – Frank Gardner , English journalist
3 August – Nick Harvey , English politician
5 August – Janet McTeer , English actress
7 August
Brian Conley , English comedian, television presenter, singer and actorWalter Swinburn , English flat racing jockey and trainer (died 2016)
8 August
12 August – Lawrence (Hayward), alternative rock musician
16 August
18 August – Huw Edwards , Welsh television journalist and news presenter
20 August – Joe Pasquale , English comedian
22 August
23 August – Gary Mabbutt , footballer
24 August – Jared Harris , English actor
29 August – Dale Vince , green energy industrialist
7 September – Kevin Kennedy , actor
13 September – Tom Holt , author
20 September – Caroline Flint , English Labour politician
22 September – Liam Fox , Conservative politician, Defence Secretary
24 September – Jack Dee , comedian
25 September – Steve Scott , journalist and presenter
26 September – Will Self , English novelist, reviewer and columnist
29 September – Julia Gillard , Welsh-born Prime Minister of Australia
30 September – Mel Stride , English Conservative politician
9 October – Julian Bailey , Formula 1 driver
10 October – Martin Kemp , actor and musician
11 October – Neil Buchanan , English television presenter
13 October – Rachel De Thame , English gardener and television presenter
14 October – Jim Burns , British science-fiction illustrator
16 October – Paul Vaessen , English footballer (died 2001)
19 October – Jayne-Anne Gadhia , businesswoman
20 October – Ian Rush , Welsh footballer and football manager
25 October – Pat Sharp , English radio DJ
November – Sarah Holland , romantic novelist, actress and singer
3 November – David Armstrong-Jones, 2nd Earl of Snowdon , chairman of Christie's U.K. auction house
4 November
9 November
16 November – Frank Bruno , British boxer
18 November – Steven Moffat , Scottish screenwriter
20 November – Dave Watson , English footballer
22 November – Stephen Hough , classical pianist
26 November
28 November – Martin Clunes , actor
11 December – Marco Pierre White , British chef and restaurateur
4 December – Gerard Woodward , British novelist and poet
5 December – Laura Flanders , British-born American journalist
12 December
19 December – Matthew Waterhouse , British actor
20 December – Keith Brown , Scottish politician
23 December – Carol Smillie , Scottish television presenter
24 December – Simon Woolley, Baron Woolley of Woodford , political activist and life peer
28 December – Helen Newlove, Baroness Newlove , community activist and life peer
29 December – Jim Reid , Scottish alternative rock singer-songwriter
31 December
Unknown dates
Deaths
26 January – Stan Nichols , English cricketer (born 1900)
30 January – John Duncan Fergusson , Scottish Colourist painter (born 1874)
4 February – Sir Philip Game , British Army officer, colonial governor and police officer (born 1876)
6 February – Lawrence Dundas, 2nd Marquess of Zetland , English politician (born 1876)
6 March – George Formby , Lancashire comic singer and performer (born 1904)
8 March – Sir Thomas Beecham , English orchestral conductor (born 1879)
12 March
Victor d'Arcy , English sprinter (born 1887)Belinda Lee , English screen actress, killed in automobile accident in the United States (born 1935)
18 March – E. Arnot Robertson , English novelist (born 1903)
7 April – Vanessa Bell , English artist and interior designer, member of the Bloomsbury Group (born 1879)
9 April – Oliver Onions (George Oliver), English novelist and ghost story writer (born 1873)
10 April – Sir John Hope Simpson , English public servant and politician (born 1868)[ 38]
13 April – Dickie Dale , English motorcycle road racer, died as result of racing accident in Germany (born 1927)
22 April – Joanna Cannan , English pony book writer and detective novelist (born 1896)
4 June – William Astbury , English physicist and molecular biologist (born 1898)
28 June – Huw Menai , Welsh poet (born 1886)
3 September – Richard Mason , English explorer, killed in Brazil (born 1934)
27 September – Bentley Purchase , London coroner (born 1890)
1 October – Sir William Reid Dick , Scottish sculptor (born 1879)
13 October
14 October – Harriet Shaw Weaver , English political activist (born 1876)
3 November – Thomas Flynn , English Roman Catholic bishop of Lancaster (born 1880)
25 November – Adelina de Lara , English classical pianist and composer (born 1872)
2 December – Herbert Pitman , English merchant seaman, third officer on RMS Titanic (born 1877)
24 December – Charles Hamilton , prolific English children's story writer (born 1876)
See also
References
^ Marr, Andrew (2007). A History of Modern Britain . London: Macmillan. p. 189. ISBN 978-1-4050-0538-8 ^ Thurlow, Richard (1987). Fascism in Britain . London. p. 246. ISBN 1-86064-337-X {{cite book }}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link )^ Wall, Patrick (1968). "The Monday Club – Organization & Membership". Student Power .^ Seyd, Patrick (1972). "Factionalism within the Conservative Party: The Monday Club". Government and Opposition . 7 (4): 464– 487. doi :10.1111/j.1477-7053.1972.tb00852.x . S2CID 145079948 . ^ a b c d e f g h Penguin Pocket On This Day . Penguin Reference Library. 2006. ISBN 0-14-102715-0 ^ "Lumumba rally clashes with UK police" . BBC News . 19 February 1961. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 10 February 2008 .^ "1960s" . NHS Timeline . Nuffield Trust. Archived from the original on 23 August 2017. Retrieved 14 August 2018 .^ "Five Britons accused of spying for Moscow" . BBC News . 13 March 1961. Archived from the original on 5 March 2008. Retrieved 10 February 2008 .^ "1961" . Those were the days . Express & Star . Retrieved 30 March 2012 .^ "Key Dates" . Royal Shakespeare Company. 2010. Archived from the original on 16 June 2010. Retrieved 30 June 2010 .^ "English Premier League 1960/1961" . Tottenham Hotspur Mad . Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 2 March 2011 .^ "Sierra Leone wins independence" . BBC News . 27 April 1961. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 10 February 2008 .^ a b Palmer, Alan; Palmer, Veronica (1992). The Chronology of British History . London: Century Ltd. ISBN 0-7126-5616-2 ^ Bolton Evening News , 2 May 1961.^ "Ratification of the Convention on the OECD" . Archived from the original on 24 June 2007. Retrieved 14 September 2009 .^ "Tottenham Hotspur results 1960/1961" . Tottenham Hotspur Mad . Archived from the original on 1 October 2011. Retrieved 2 March 2011 .^ Basset, Anita (1963). A Factual Guide to Guildford Cathedral . ^ "Panda replaces zebra at road crossing" . BBC News . 14 June 1961. Retrieved 30 March 2012 .^ "The Computer Centre Opens". Spread Eagle : 252. 1961. ^ Barclays Group Archives. Barclays Fact Sheet: Principal Events , 2.
^ "Dramatic End to Britain's Memorable Wimbledon". The Times ^ Panayi, Panikos (May 1991). "Middlesbrough 1961: A British race riot of the 1960s?". Social History ^ "Couple found shot in A6 lay-by" . BBC News . 23 August 1961. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 10 February 2008 .^ Cowan, Mark (3 June 2010). "Did this man escape justice for Jackie's murder?" . Birmingham Mail . Trinity Mirror. Retrieved 18 February 2012 . ^ "Intelligent Film on Homosexuality" . The Times the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 18 July 2010 .^ "Special events in the development of women's equality" . Catherine of Siena Virtual College. Archived from the original on 19 March 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2011 .^ "Worldwide Disasters" . Hillsborough Football Disaster . Retrieved 30 March 2012 .^ "Skelmersdale Development Corporation records" . Access to Archives . The National Archives . Retrieved 30 March 2012 .^ "RAF flies aid to flood-stricken Somalia" . BBC News . 27 November 1961. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 10 February 2008 .^ "Birth control pill available to all" . BBC News . 4 December 1961. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 10 February 2008 .^ Tanzania . The World Factbook Central Intelligence Agency . Retrieved 10 February 2008.^ Harwood, Elain (2003). England: a Guide to Post-War Listed Buildings (rev. ed.). London: Batsford. ISBN 0-7134-8818-2 ^ "The Minack Chronicles" . Retrieved 16 July 2022 .^ "Whittle, Peter Robin". Whittle, Peter Robin, (Born 6 Jan. 1961), author, journalist and broadcaster; Member (UK Ind), London Assembly, Greater London Authority, since 2016 (Leader, UK Independent Group, since 2016); Founder and Director, New Culture Forum, since 2006 . Who's Who . 2016. doi :10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U287927 . ^ "Fatima WHITBREAD | Profile | World Athletics" . worldathletics.org . Retrieved 31 March 2022 .^ "Diana, princess of Wales" . Encyclopedia Britannica . Retrieved 26 June 2020 .^ "Jill Dando | Jill Dando murder" . The Guardian . Retrieved 27 April 2021 .^ Stearn, Roger T. (2004). "Simpson, Sir John Hope (1868–1961)" . Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online, January 2012 ed.). Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 14 September 2016. Retrieved 12 June 2017 .
