Timeline August 1961

Events in August 1961 11

• 1872 – 1961 Learned Hand (1872-1961) Died 18 August 1961, aged 89 American judge who served on the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and is widely regarded as one of the most influential jurists never to sit on the Supreme Court. His opinions on free speech and statutory interpretation remain frequently cited.
• 1877 – 1961 Charles Coburn (1877-1961) American stage actor who became one of Hollywood's favourite character actors in his sixties, winning an Oscar for The More the Merrier.
• 1961 Patsy Cline tops the country charts with I Fall to Pieces Owen Bradley Her first country number one.
• 1961 US Championships 1961 Men: Roy Emerson · Women: Darlene Hard
• 1961 – present Barack Obama 44th President — first African American president Barack Obama (born Aug 4, 1961) was the 44th President 2009-2017, the first African American president. He passed the Affordable Care Act, oversaw the killing of Osama bin Laden, and won the Nobel Peace Prize.
• 1961 Berlin Wall Erection Division of Berlin A wall built by the GDR to separate East and West Berlin, becoming a global symbol of the Iron Curtain.
• 1961 Construction of the Berlin Wall begins East Germany seals the border between East and West Berlin East German authorities began erecting a barbed-wire and concrete barrier dividing East and West Berlin to halt the mass exodus of citizens to the West. The wall became the defining physical symbol of the Cold War division of Europe for the next twenty-eight years.
• 1961 Alliance for Progress launched US economic aid initiative for Latin America Representatives of the United States and Latin American nations signed the Charter of Punta del Este, establishing the Alliance for Progress. The program aimed to counter the appeal of Cuban-style revolution by funding economic development across the region.
• 1961 Patsy Cline records Crazy Written by Willie Nelson Her signature song.
• 1961 Roland Orzabal born 22 August 1961, Portsmouth Roland Jaime Orzabal de la Quintana was born on 22 August 1961 in Portsmouth, England, to an English mother and a Spanish father — he would become Tears for Fears' principal songwriter, guitarist and a lead vocalist.
• 1961 Charles Coburn dies in New York Charles Coburn dies aged 84.