1961 (MCMLXI) was . Its rendering using the Hindu-Arabic numeral system creates a numeral which looks the same when put upside down. The next such year will be 6009.

Events 

 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

Births 

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
April 3 – Eddie Murphy, American actor and comedian
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

Deaths 

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 Prizes
 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

Movies released

 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

Hit songs

"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

New books

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