1961
From top to bottom, left to right: Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human in space aboard Vostok 1; the Tsar Bomba is detonated by the Soviet Union; the Bay of Pigs invasion is launched against Cuba; the Berlin Crisis of 1961 heightens Cold War tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union; the Sino-Soviet split deepens divisions between the People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union; the Assassination of Patrice Lumumba occurs during the Congo Crisis; the Portuguese Colonial War begins in Angola against Portugal; the Sabena Flight 548 crash occurs in Belgium; and the Freedom Rides challenge segregation in the American South.
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1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1961st year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 961st year of the 2nd millennium, the 61st year of the 20th century, and the 2nd year of the 1960s decade.