January 17 » El Yunque National Forest in Puerto Rico becomes part of the United States National Forest System as the Luquillo Forest Reserve.
February 14 » The United States Department of Commerce and Labor is established (later split into the Department of Commerce and the Department of Labor).
July 20 » The Ford Motor Company ships its first automobile.
October 31 » The Purdue Wreck, a railroad train collision in Indianapolis, kills 17 people, including 14 players of the Purdue University football team.
December 14 » The Wright brothers make their first attempt to fly with the Wright Flyer at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
December 30 » A fire at the Iroquois Theater in Chicago, Illinois kills at least 605.
Day of death August 15, 1961
The temperature on August 15, 1961 was between 11.6 °C and 17.1 °C and averaged 14.1 °C. There was 4.0 mm of rain during 3.2 hours. There was 4.4 hours of sunshine (30%). The heavily clouded was. The average windspeed was 3 Bft (moderate breeze) and was prevailing from the west. Source: KNMI
January 3 » A protest by agricultural workers in Baixa de Cassanje, Portuguese Angola, turns into a revolt, opening the Angolan War of Independence, the first of the Portuguese Colonial Wars.
January 17 » U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower delivers a televised farewell address to the nation three days before leaving office, in which he warns against the accumulation of power by the "military–industrial complex" as well as the dangers of massive spending, especially deficit spending.
February 15 » Sabena Flight 548 crashes in Belgium, killing 73, including the entire United States figure skating team along with several of their coaches and family members.
June 23 » The Antarctic Treaty System, which sets aside Antarctica as a scientific preserve and limits military activity on the continent, its islands and ice shelves, comes into force.
September 16 » Pakistan establishes its Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission with Abdus Salam as its head.
October 20 » The Soviet Union performs the first armed test of a submarine-launched ballistic missile, launching an R-13 from a Golf-class submarine.
When copying data from this family tree, please include a reference to the origin: Charles Olson, "Olson's Tree", database, Genealogy Online (https://www.genealogieonline.nl/olsons-tree/P25057.php : accessed January 17, 2026), "John Churchill (1903-1961)".
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