July 5, 1961 - Oakland Tribue

Top Stories on July 5, 1961 -
ALGIERS — Algerian rebels stage violent mob attacks
in protest against French partition plan.
WASHINGTON — Serious dispute between Russia and
red China studied by U.S. officials.
MANILA—General MacArthur tells Philippine Congress
big question now is prevention of global war.
TEL AVIV — Israel fires first rocket for meteorological
research.
FOURTH OF JULY highway slaughter worst in history.

***
I have not yet found statistics on the number of highway deaths for 2009.

I did find a Google News story from 1966 that exceeded 1961's record number.

2004 study:

New Study Reveals July 4th Deadliest Day on America's Roads; July 3rd is the Second Deadliest

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2004_July_1/ai_n6091753/

June 13, 1961

Today in History: June 13, 1961 was a Tuesday.
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TODAY'S TOP NEWS EVENTS AT A GLANCE
WASHINGTON —Foreign Service officer, formerly in San Francisco, arrested on charges of passing secrets to Polish communists.
HAVANA—U.S. farm experts arrive in' attempt' to arrange details of Castro's prisoners-for-tractors deal.
WASHINGTON-President cancels speech to mayors because of back ailment.
SACRAMENTO — Un-American Activities subcommittee charges reds gaining strength in college recruitment.
SOVIET UNION sends two virtual ultimatums to United States on Berlin and nuclear test ban.
SACRAMENTO — Assembly passes reapportionment bills for Congressional and Assembly districts, sending measures to Governor.
***

Probers Rap Red Inroads at U.C. Senate Group Charges Communists Succeeding In Campus Recruitment
SACRAMENTO, June 13 — A resurgent communist party, with recruitment of youth as its primary objective, is gaining strength on California college campuses, the State Senate Fact-Finding Subcommittee on Un-American Activities reported today.
***
U.S. Tractor Experts Visit Cuban Prisoners in Havana
HAVANA. June 13 - Four American farm machinery experts today confrontedsome of the captive Cuban invaders they are attempting to barter out of Prime Minister Fidel Castro's prisons with tractors....
***
Kennedy Asks Expansion of Jobless Aid
WASHINGTON. June 13 - President Kennedy proposed to congress today a broad expansion of the unemployment compensation system to increase the amount and duration of benefits and the payroll taxes to pay for them.



Major League Attendance Down
NEW YORK (AP) — Major league baseball attendance for 1961 continues 10 per cent under
last season despite the addition of the two new American League teams, the latest figures disclosed today. Through Sunday's games, this season's total was 5,845,453 compared
with 6,501,438 for the 16 teams in 1960. The National League, which has played to 2,892,682 customers, is 693,000 behind last year. The American League's aggregate of 2,952,771 is 36,000 ahead of 1960, but includes the combined 548,000 gate of the new franchises, Minnesota (340,000) and Los Angeles (208,000). Cincinnati and Washington are the only clubs showing increases. The Reds are up 29,000 and the Senators a mere 239. The Los Angeles Dodgers, who
lead both leagues, moved close to the 800,000 mark over the week-end. But they are 158,000 under last year.

History of 1961

I have been embarking on a new thing for a few weeks. I am now on Twitter and am practicing my 140 character posting prowess by posting the day by day history of 1961. One or more posts for each day in 1961, corresponding to the same day of the year it is in 2009.

I don't know if I will continue this - but what has been fun about it has been the awareness I am getting about that year, on a day by day basis. It is like reading my daily newspaper now, only I am reading 48 year old news. Kennedy was president and had back problems, the Freedom Riders & racial integration, Maris' 61 home runs that year, TV Repairs cost $1.75 for a service call in El Paso Texas, dress pants were $10.95, My Day by Eleanor Roosevelt, we were sending rockets off Cape Canaveral to test accuracy of nuclear warheads and Laos was in the news a lot. Reading the front pages of old newspaper archives (http://www.newspaperarchive.com/) brings more context than blurbs in a history book or a simple "this day in history" does. Although much of what is in the paper is mundane news, some of it has real value in learning what was really going on then.

This fascination all started because I have in my possession a 1962 Information Please Almanac. It has a chronological posting of news events and legislative news for the year 1961. This intrigued me enough to search online about the subjects summarized in the almanac.

NEWS EVENTS AT A GLANCE - 06/12/61 - Oakland Tribune
GENEVA—West, communists agree to send appeal to both sides in Laos for cooperation on truce.
WASHINGTON-—Senate passes Administration's $6.16 billion housing bill after bitter opposition speeches.
WASHINGTON—The Supreme Court upsets a New York State decision barring the U.S. communist party from unemployment insurance benefits.
WASHINGTON — President, using crutches, hoisted aboard plane at Palm Beach, Fla., and returns to White House.
WASHINGTON — Army rebukes General Walker for labeling as pinks or communists ex-President Truman and other notables.
SACRAMENTO—Bills to give Californians $2.3 million tax cuts headed for Governor's desk.
JERUSALEM — Eichmann's defense attacks memoirs, charging they are in effect a forgery.

From 06/02/61:

1961 History: As MAD Magazine pointed out on its cover for the March 1961 issue, this was the first "upside-up" year—i.e., one in which the numerals that form the year look the same as when the numerals are rotated upside down—since 1881, and the last until 6009. (src: wikipedia)