* 1961 – Rory Bremner, Scottish comedian

* 1961 – The Russian ( Soviet ) cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human to travel into outer space and perform the first manned orbital flight, in Vostok 3KA-2 ( Vostok 1 ).

* 1961 – Enedina Arellano Félix, Mexican drug trafficker

* 1961 – Lisa Gerrard, Australian singer, musician, and composer ( Dead Can Dance )

* 1961 – Charles Mann, American football player

* 1961 – Magda Szubanski, Australian actress

* 1961 – K-19, the first Soviet nuclear submarine equipped with nuclear missiles, is commissioned.

* 1961 – Isiah Thomas, American basketball player

* 1961 – Yolanda Adams, American singer, producer, and actress

* 1961 – Tom Ford, American fashion designer and director

* 1961 – Helmut Winklhofer, German footballer

* 1881 – Leo Carrillo, American actor ( d. 1961 )

* 1961 – Brad Gilbert, American tennis player

* 1961 – John Key, New Zealand politician, 38th Prime Minister of New Zealand

* 1961 – Amy Stiller, American comedian and actress

* 1961 – East Germany closes the border between the eastern and western sectors of Berlin to thwart its inhabitants ' attempts to escape to the West.

* 1961 – Sam Champion, American weatherman

* 1961 – Christos Christodoulou, Greek basketball player

* 1961 – Dawnn Lewis, American actress

* 1961 – Stuart Maconie, English journalist, author, and broadcaster

* 1961 – Tom Perrotta, American novelist

* 1961 – Sunil Shetty, Indian actor and producer

* 1961 – Cary Stayner, American serial killer

* 1886 – John Alexander Douglas McCurdy Canadian pilot and engineer ( d. 1961 )

* 1961 – Neil Buchanan, English television presenter

" Crying " followed in July 1961 and reached number 2 ; it was coupled with an R & B up-tempo song titled " Candy Man " written by Fred Neil and Beverley Ross, which reached the Billboard Top 30, staying on the charts for two months.

* Come Blow Your Horn is the title of Neil Simon's first play, produced in 1961, and the name of the film adaptation ( 1963 ).

* 1961 – 62 – Neil Burke

" was the B-side of " Going Home to Mary Lou " and appeared on his 1961 album Neil Sedaka Sings " Little Devil " and His Other Hits ; and " All the Words in the World " was recorded but was kept in the RCA vaults until 1977, at the height of Sedaka's return to popularity, when it was released on the album Neil Sedaka: The ' 50s and ' 60s.

* T. Neil Davis ( BS 1955, PhD 1961 ), geophysicist and author

Among his other gaffes were: " There's Neil Harvey standing at leg slip with his legs wide apart, waiting for a tickle ", which he uttered when Harvey was representing Australia at the Headingley Test in 1961.

* Foxy, a nickname for Neil Fox ( broadcaster ) ( born 1961 ), British music personality

* Most Goals In A Season: 163 by Neil Fox, 1961 – 62

* Most Points In A Season: 407 by Neil Fox, 1961 – 62

After finishing fourth in 1960, West Adelaide, Captain-Coached by Neil Kerley, won their seventh premiership in 1961 when they defeated Norwood by 6 goals in the Grand Final.

Club General Manager Doug Thomas and President Bob Lee enticed 1961 premiership coach Neil Kerley back to West Adelaide in 1981 and the improvement in the team was immediate.

* 13 Piccadilly ( 1961 )) as Neil Bell

* The Endless Chain ( 1961 ) as Neil Bell

* The Narrow Edge ( 1961 ) as Neil Bell

* Village Casanova and Other Stories ( 1961 ) as Neil Bell

Come Blow Your Horn is Neil Simon's first play, which premiered on Broadway in 1961 and had a London production in 1962 at the Prince of Wales Theatre.

* Neil Sedaka-Circulate ( 1961 )

Neil Mallender ( born Neil Alan Mallender, 13 August 1961, Kirk Sandall, Yorkshire ) is a former English cricketer.

Other Broadway performances included Paddy Chayefsky ’ s The Tenth Man ( 1959 ); Woody Allen ’ s Don ’ t Drink the Water ( 1966 ); and Neil Simon ’ s debut play Come Blow Your Horn ( 1961 ).

Neil Andrew Howe Fox ( born 12 June 1961 in Harrow, London, England ) is an English DJ and TV presenter, known for many years as Dr. Fox before he became " Foxy " in the 2000s.

South Adelaide won its most recent SANFL Premiership in 1964 ; they had finished 8th and last in 1963 but had recruited West Adelaide's 1961 premiership playing-coach ( and 1962 premiership runner up ) Neil Kerley to coach the team.