May 1961

January – February – March – April – May – June – July – August – September  – October  – November – December

The following events occurred in May 1961.

May 1, 1961 (Monday)

• Betting shops became legal in the United Kingdom, permitting UK residents to place bets, through a bookie, on horse races without going to the track.^[1]
• For the first time since Fidel Castro took power, an American airplane was hijacked to Cuba. ^[2] A man who used the alias "Cofresi Elpirata", after the 19th century Caribbean pirate Roberto Cofresí, entered the cockpit of a National Airlines flight that was enroute from Miami to Key West, then forced the pilot to fly to Havana. Castro allowed the plane to return to the U.S. the next day.^[3]
• Born: Clint Malarchuk, Canadian ice hockey player, in Grande Prairie, Alberta

May 2, 1961 (Tuesday)

• The training vessel Albatross was hit by a white squall about 125 miles (201 km) west of the Dry Tortugas. The schooner sank almost instantly, taking with her Alice Sheldon, ship's cook George Ptacnik, and students Chris Coristine, John Goodlett, Rick Marsellus, and Robin Wetherill. Thirteen other people on the student ship survived.^[4] The tragedy would later form the basis for the 1996 film White Squall.

May 3, 1961 (Wednesday)

• The U.S. federal minimum wage was raised to $1.25 per hour by a 230-196 vote in the House of Representatives. Earlier, the U.S. Senate had approved the measure, advocated by President Kennedy, by a 64-28 vote.^[5]
• Former British diplomat George Blake was sentenced to 42 years imprisonment for spying, one year for the life of each of the 42 British agents who died after Blake had betrayed them. Blake had been the U.K.'s vice-consul in South Korea before being captured during the Korean War and spending three years in an internment camp, and was later caught passing secrets of the British Navy to the Soviet Union.^[6] He escaped London's Wormwood Scrubs Prison on October 22, 1965 and eventually settled in Moscow.^[7]
• The 1961 Cannes Film Festival opened.
• Born: Leyla Zana, Kurdish politician, in Silvan, Turkey

May 4, 1961 (Thursday)

• After setting a new record for highest altitude reached by a balloon, Lt. Comm. Victor A. Prather was killed, and Commander Malcolm Ross injured. The two U.S. Navy officers had ascended to 113,500 feet (34,600 meters) over the Gulf of Mexico, but then had to make a forced landing. The aircraft carrier USS Antietam came to the rescue of the downed craft, but Prather slipped and fell from a sling as he was being lifted into a helicopter.^[8]
• In the U.S., thirteen members of the "Freedom Riders" began a bus trip to test the limits on segregation on interstate bus rides, following the new U.S. Supreme Court integration ruling in Boynton v. Virginia.^[9]

May 5, 1961 (Friday)

• Mercury program: At 9:34 am, Alan Shepard became the first American in space as Mercury-Redstone 3 lifted off from Cape Canaveral. Shepard's rocket reached an altitude of 115 miles without achieving orbit, and was recovered 19 minutes later by the aircraft carrier USS Lake Champlain.^[10]
• NASA issued a proposal document to use Scout rockets to launch small satellites that would evaluate the worldwide Mercury Tracking Network in preparation for manned orbital missions.

May 6, 1961 (Saturday)

• Tottenham Hotspur F.C. defeated Leicester City 2-0 in the 1961 FA Cup Final before a crowd of 100,000 at Wembley, becoming the first team in the 20th century to win the English league and cup double. Aston Villa had won the double back in 1897.^[11]
• Carry Back, ridden by Johnny Sellers, won the Kentucky Derby. The racehorse, bred from a mare who had cost only $300, would earn more than a million dollars for his owners.^[12] Carry Back won the Preakness Stakes, but failed to win the third part of U.S. horse racing's Triple Crown, finishing 7th in the Belmont Stakes.^[13]
• Died: Lucian Blaga, 65, Romanian poet, dramatist and philosopher

May 7, 1961 (Sunday)

• UA Sedan-Torcy defeated Nîmes Olympique 3–1 in the Coupe de France Final before 45,000 at Colombes, France.^[14]
• Died: Mukerjee (Yebaw Phyu Win), Burmese Communist leader, in a police raid.^[15]

May 8, 1961 (Monday)

• At the Savoy Hilton Hotel in New York City, the name of New York's new expansion team in the National League was made official. Joan Payson, the majority owner of the team, christened it as the New York Mets "by breaking a champagne bottle with a baseball bat." ^[16] The name, short for Metropolitans, was chosen by the public, although Mrs. Payson's personal preference was the "Meadowlarks", and out of 9,613 suggestions, 644 names were selected and then reduced to ten, the other nine choices being Avengers, Bees, Burros, Continentals, Jets, NYBs, Rebels, Skyliners and Skyscrapers.^[17]

May 9, 1961 (Tuesday)

• Describing American television as "a vast wasteland", Federal Communications Commission Chairman Newton N. Minow addressed the National Association of Broadcasters in Washington, and implied that the FCC might not renew licenses of those entities that failed to upgrade their product. "I invite each of you to sit down in front of your television set when your station goes on the air and stay there, for a day, without a book, without a magazine, without a newspaper, without a profit and loss sheet or a rating book to distract you. Keep your eyes glued to that set until the station signs off. I can assure you that what you will observe is a vast wasteland," said Minow. "You will see a procession of game shows, formula comedies about totally unbelievable families, blood and thunder, mayhem, violence, sadism, murder, western bad men, western good men, private eyes, gangsters, more violence, and cartoons. And endlessly, commercials -- many screaming, cajoling, and offending. And most of all, boredom. True, you'll see a few things you will enjoy. But they will be very, very few. And if you think I exaggerate, I only ask you to try it." ^[18]
• The second launch of the sounding rocket RM-89 Blue Scout I took place at Cape Canaveral, but the 72 foot tall missile wobbled and veered off course. Ground control destroyed the errant vehicle.^[19]
• The B-52 Stratofortress entered service in the United States Air Force.

May 10, 1961 (Wednesday)

• Charles R. Swart, who would be the last Governor-General of South Africa, was elected as that nation's first President. The vote in Parliament was 139-71 in favor of Swart over former Chief Justice Henry A. Fagan.^[20]
• Born: Johanna ter Steege, Dutch actress, in Wierden

May 11, 1961 (Thursday)

• Air France Flight 406 crashed in the Sahara Desert while en route from Bangui to Marseilles. All 79 persons on board (69 passengers and the crew of 10) were killed when the Super Constellation crashed.^[21]
• The Russell Cave National Monument was established in Alabama with a donation of 310 acres (1.3 km²) of land by the National Geographic Society.^[22] Located near Bridgeport, Alabama, the cave was used as shelter by human beings for more than 8,000 years, dating back as far as 6500 BC.^[23]
• Angelino Soler won the 1961 Vuelta a España cycle race.^[24]
• Born: Cecile Licad, Filipina classical pianist, in Manila

May 12, 1961 (Friday)

• Born: Zeny & Zory, Las gemelas Beveraggi, Puerto Rican singing duo, in Santurce.

May 13, 1961 (Saturday)

• Gordon Reid founded the Canadian discount store Giant Tiger. The first store opened at 98 George Street in Ottawa.^[25]
• Died: Gary Cooper, 60, American film actor

May 14, 1961 (Sunday)

• American civil rights movement: A Freedom Riders bus was fire-bombed near Anniston, Alabama and the civil rights protestors were beaten by an angry mob. Sixteen members of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) had divided their group at Atlanta, with nine riding on a Greyhound bus and seven others on a Trailways bus. Six miles beyond Anniston, a tire on the Greyhound bus was flattened. Unbeknownst to either the riders or the mob, Alabama special agent Eli M. Cowling had boarded that bus in Atlanta, and prevented the crowd from exacting further violence on the Riders, but the bus itself was burned by the firebomb. The Trailways bus riders arrived in Birmingham, where two of them were beaten up at the station.^[26]
• The Monaco Grand Prix was won by Stirling Moss, beginning the 12th FIA Formula One World Championship season.^[27]

May 15, 1961 (Monday)

• The Nirenberg and Matthaei experiment was performed by Heinrich Matthaei. The Poly-U-Experiment enabled recogniztion and understanding of the genetic code. This is considered the birthdate of modern genetics.^[28]
• Marcel Mihalovici's opera Krapp's Last Tape premièred in a French language version on RTF radio.

May 16, 1961 (Tuesday)

• A military coup in South Korea overthrew the government of Prime Minister John M. Chang and President Yung Po Sun. At 3:30 in the morning local time, Republic of Korea forces led by Lt.Gen. Chang Do Yung seized control of police barracks and government offices in Seoul and other cities, then announced the takeover at 6:00 a.m. General Park Chung Hee, Deputy Commander of the ROK Second Army, soon took over as the new President. General Carter B. Magruder, Commander of the U.S. 8th Army and highest ranking American officer in Korea, declared American support for the Chang regime, but U.S. forces did not intervene during the tumult.^[29]
• On the first day of an official visit to Canada, U.S. President John F. Kennedy re-injured his back while participating in a tree planting ceremony at Ottawa. Kennedy, who had nearly died during back surgery in 1954, had been using a shovel to lift dirt, and was on crutches after returning home. ^[30]

May 17, 1961 (Wednesday)

• The first fatality in the history of Little League Baseball occurred during an evening game in Temple City, California. Nine-year old Barry Babcock was struck in the chest by a pitched ball, with impact above his heart, and collapsed and died from a cardiac dysrhythmia .^[31] One week later, the second fatality in Little League baseball took place when ten year old George McCormick, of Park Ridge, Illinois, was struck in the head by a batted ball during practice.^[32]
• Born: Enya, Irish singer and composer, (as Eithne Patricia Ní Bhraonáin) in Gweedore, County Donegal

May 18, 1961 (Thursday)

• Chang Myon ended his second term in office as Prime Minister of South Korea, after which the post was abolished.^[33]
• Belgian musician Bobbejaan Schoepen married opera singer and photo model Josephina (Josée) Jongen.

May 19, 1961 (Friday)

• Venera program: Venera 1 became the first man-made object to make a "fly-by" of another planet by passing Venus. The Soviet launched probe had lost contact with Earth a month earlier, however, and did not send back any data.

May 20, 1961 (Saturday)

• The 1961 Giro d'Italia cycling event began.
• Died: Nannie Helen Burroughs, 82, African-American educator and religious leader

May 21, 1961 (Sunday)

• American civil rights movement: Alabama Governor John Patterson declared martial law in the city of Montgomery after race riots broke out. Major General Henry V. Graham was given virtually unlimited power to attempt to restore order.^[34]
• Died: B. J. Palmer, 79, American pioneer of chiropractic

May 22, 1961 (Monday)

• The next phase of the Nirenberg and Matthaei experiment began at 3:30 pm as Heinrich Matthaei began the process of adding a synthesized RNA molecule sample, "consisting of the simple repetition of one type of nucleotide", to a centrifuged sample of 20 amino acid proteins. The results were realized less than five days later on Saturday, May 27. At 6:00 in the morning, with the isolation of the amino acid of phenylalanine. "In less than a week," it would later be observed, "Matthaei had identified the first 'word' of the genetic code".^[35]
• The London Trophy was won at Crystal Palace by Roy Salvadori in a Cooper T53.

May 23, 1961 (Tuesday)

• The four-year scientific investigation into Fletcher's Ice Island began.

May 24, 1961 (Wednesday)

• American civil rights movement: Freedom Riders were arrested in Jackson, Mississippi, for "disturbing the peace" after disembarking from their bus.
• The Milwaukee Road's Olympian Hiawatha passenger train made its final run between Chicago, Illinois, and Seattle, Washington.

May 25, 1961 (Thursday)

• Apollo program: Addressing a joint session of the Congress, American President John F. Kennedy declared "I believe this nation should commit itself, to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the earth." ^[36] Congress responded with increased funding for the program, and Apollo 11 landed on the Moon, with 164 days left in the 1960s, on July 20, 1969.
• King Hussein of Jordan, 25, married an English commoner, 20-year old Toni Gardiner, making her his second wife. Gardiner was not present at the "all male" Muslim ceremony, which took place at the Zahran Palace near Amman and saw the King sign a wedding pledge. Initially, she was "neither a queen nor a princess", but took on the title and name "Sahibat al Sown Wa al Isma Muna al-Hussein".^[37]

May 26, 1961 (Friday)

• The first flight of the Canadair CF-104 Starfighter was made.
• Born: Tarsem Singh, Indian film director

May 27, 1961 (Saturday)

• Tunku Abdul Rahman, Prime Minister of Malaya, held a press conference in Singapore, to announce his proposal to form the Federation of Malaysia, comprising Malaya, Singapore, Sarawak, Brunei and North Borneo (Sabah).
• American athlete Ralph Boston broke the long jump world record at Modesto, California, with a distance of 8.24 metres (27 feet, 4 inches).
• Born: Northern Dancer, Canadian thoroughbred racehorse (d. 1990)
• Died: Maria Fris, 29, prima ballerina of the Hamburg State Opera, jumped to her death from a catwalk at the opera house during rehearsals for a production of Sergei Prokofiev's production of Romeo and Juliet. Fris had been despondent from a chronic tendon inflammation that had ruined her career.^[38]

May 28, 1961 (Sunday)

• Peter Benenson's article "The Forgotten Prisoners" was published in several internationally read newspapers, and inspired the founding of the human rights organization Amnesty International.
• The Orient Express made its final run, traveling between Paris, France, and Bucharest, Romania.

May 29, 1961 (Monday)

• Rafael Leónidas Trujillo, totalitarian despot of the Dominican Republic since 1930, was killed in an ambush, putting an end to the second longest-running dictatorship in Latin American history. Trujillo was being driven in his car from his residence in San Cristobal to Ciudad Trujillo. Shortly after 10:00 pm local time, a sedan pulled into the path of his car, and assassins with machine guns killed both Trujillo and the chauffer. The news was not announced to the Dominican public until 5:00 pm the next day.^[39]
• A West Virginia couple, Mr. and Mrs. Alderson Muncy of Paynesville, West Virginia, became the first American food stamp recipients under a pilot program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, being tested in eight communities. For the month of June, the Muncys received $95 worth of food coupons for their household of fifteen people, and made the first purchase at Henderson's Supermarket.^[40]

May 30, 1961 (Tuesday)

• The 1961 Indianapolis 500 – the first not to be included in the Formula One championship – was won by A. J. Foyt.
• KLM Flight 897 crashed at 1:19 in the morning, shortly after taking off from Lisbon, ultimately bound for Caracas. High winds and driving rains brought the DC-8 jet down into the ocean off of the coast of Portugal, with wreckage and bodies washing onto the beach. All 61 persons on board were killed.^[41]

May 31, 1961 (Wednesday)

• The Union of South Africa, formerly part of the British Commonwealth of Nations, became the Republic of South Africa, with former Governor-General Charles R. Swart as its first President.
• In France, rebel generals Maurice Challe and Andre Zelelr were sentenced to 15 years in prison.
• Presidents John F. Kennedy of the United States and Charles De Gaulle of France met in Paris. President Kennedy brought with him the First Lady, Jackie Kennedy, who charmed the crowds as she arrived for dinner at the Elysee Palace. Her new hairstyle, created by the Paris coiffeur Alexandre made fashion news worldwide.^[42]
• The Rokotov-Faibishenko case trial opened in Moscow City Court.^[43]

References

1. ^ Wray Vamplew and Joyce Kay, Encyclopedia of British Horseracing (Routledge, 2005) p360
2. ^ "Hijacking of U.S. Planes Began with Seizure at Marathon May 1", St. Petersburg (FL) Times, August 4, 1961, p16-A
3. ^ "Hijacked U.S. Plane Returns From Cuba", Milwaukee Sentinel, May 2, 1961, p1
4. ^ "SEA SURVIVORS TELL OF STORM HORROR", Miami News, May 4, 1961, p1
5. ^ "$1.25 MINIMUM WAGE PASSED", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 4, 1961, p1
6. ^ "Admits Guilt as Russ Spy: Briton Gets 42 Years", Milwaukee Journal, May 3, 1961, p7
7. ^ "George Blake, Convicted Spy, Escapes Prison", The News and Courier (Charleston, SC) October 22, 1966, p7-A; "Jane Andrews recaptured - top ten notorious prison breaks", The Telegraph, November 25, 2009
8. ^ “Balloonist Is Killed in 21 ½-Mile Ascent” , Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 5, 1961, p1
9. ^ "Sit-In Backers Start Test Bus Trip to South", New York Times, May 5, 1961
10. ^ SPACE FLIGHT SUCCESS", Sarasota (FL) Journal, May 5, 1961, p1
11. ^ "Tottenham Completes Rare Double Triumph", Calgary Herald, May 8, 1961, p9
12. ^ "Inexpensive Carry Back Wins Derby", Montreal Gazette, May 8, 1961, p21
13. ^ "Carry Back 7th as 65-1 Shot Wins", Los Angeles Times, June 4, 1961
14. ^ "Cops Soccer Title", Milwaukee Sentinel, May 8, 1961, p2-6
15. ^ Fleischmann, Klaus. Die Kommunistische Partei Birmas – Von den Anfängen bis zur Gegenwart. Hamburg: Institut für Asienkunde, 1989. p. 414.
16. ^ "New York Mets new club's name", Regina Leader-Post, May 9, 1961, p20
17. ^ Matthew Silverman, New York Mets: The Complete Illustrated History (MVP Books, 2011) p12
18. ^ "Minow Warns TV Must Improve", Milwaukee Sentinel, May 10, 1961, p1-6; Text of speech, AmericanRhetoric.com
19. ^ "Wobbling Rocket Destroyed", Miami News, May 9, 1961, p1
20. ^ "South Africa Elects Swart As President", Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, May 10, 1961, p1
21. ^ "79 Perish In Air Crash, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 11, 1961, p1
22. ^ National Parks Service
23. ^ Greater Jackson County (AL) Chamber of Commerce
24. ^ Vuelta a España website
25. ^ Giant Tiger history
26. ^ "Racial Crusaders Continue Bus Tour Despite Beatings", Tuscaloosa News, May 16, 1961, p1
27. ^ "Moss Wins Monaco Grand Prix", Glasgow Herald, May 15, 1961, p1
28. ^ Hans-Jörg Rheinberger, "Experimentalsysteme – Eine Geschichte der Proteinsynthese im Reagenzglas" Wallstein ISBN 3-89244-454-4
29. ^ "SOUTH KOREA UNDER MARTIAL LAW AFTER ARMY COUP", Sydney Morning Herald, May 17, 1961, p1; "COUP OUSTS S. KOREAN REGIME", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 16, 1961, p1
30. ^ "Kennedy Hurt Planting Tree", Calgary Herald, June 9, 1961, p7
31. ^ "Little 'Tiger' First Fatality In Little League", Miami News, May 19, 1961 pC-1
32. ^ "Second Little Leaguer Struck By Ball Dies", Modesto (CA) Bee, May 24, 1961, pA-8
33. ^ List of Prime Ministers, with photos
34. ^ "RACE RIOT MARTIAL LAW RULED" Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 22, 1961, p1
35. ^ Michel Morange and Matthew Cobb, "A History of Molecular Biology" (Harvard University Press, 2000) p135
36. ^ “Kennedy Shoots For Moon In Message To Congress- Hopest To Get Man There- And Back- Prior To 1970”, Sarasota Journal, May 25, 1961, p1
37. ^ "Hussein Weds English Commoner", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 26, 1961, p11
38. ^ "Prima Ballerina Dies In Leap From Gallery", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 29, 1961, p1
39. ^ “TRUJILLO DIES AS HE LIVED - BY GUNFIRE FROM AMBUSH”, Miami News, June 1, 1961, p1
40. ^ "A Short History of SNAP", USDA.gov; "Family of 15 First To Get Stamps Under Kennedy Plan In West Virginia", Toledo Blade, May 30, 1961, p2
41. ^ "61 Dead In Lisbon Jet Crash", Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, May 30, 1961, p1
42. ^ “It’s a New Jackie; The Loveliest Girl in Paris”, Miami News, June 1, 1961, p6A
43. ^ Feofanov, Yuri and Barry, Donald D. (1996). Politics and Justice in Russia: Major Trials of the Post-Stalin Era, pp. 22–31. M. E. Sharpe, Inc. ISBN 1-56234-344-X.