On this day
March 3, 1961
Revisit the news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.
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Headlines from March 3, 1961
U.N. Chief Asks for Force Of 25,000 Men in Congo; U.N. CHIEF ASKS FUNDS FOR CONGO
Hammarskjold asks 25,000 troops and $135 million to support UN force, '61 rept to Assembly; details; Tunisia pledges more troops
GOVERNOR TO ASK 37 MILLION MORE FOR STATE STAFFS; 110,000 Employes Would Get Increases of $120 to $10,000 a Year BILLS ARE DUE IN WEEK Two-thirds of the Allocation Would Aid Those Making Less Than $6,000 Rockefeller Will Seek Raises For State's 110,000 Employes
ALBANY, March 2 -- Governor Rockefeller presented today a program of salary increases for the state's 110,000 employes. The increases would range from $120 to $10,000 a year.
Capital Diplomats Hail Peace Corps; ENVOYS WELCOME PEACE CORPS IDEA
Cong and Washington diplomatic reaction; many laud program; Repr Passman, Sen Bennett, others critical; flood of applications continues; expansion of work goes on under Shriver
First Floor Is Destroyed -- Governor and Wife Aid 3 Servants; ROCKEFELLERS FLEE BLAZE IN ALBANY Mansion and Art Damaged in Fire
pors and illus
Notable Births
1961Mary Page Keller, American actress and producer[โ ]
Mary Page Keller is an American actress known for roles on television. She began her career on the daytime soap operas Ryan's Hope (1982โ83) and Another World (1983โ1985) and later starred in a number of television sitcoms. She starred as Laura Kelly in the Fox comedy series Duet (1987โ1989) and in the show's spin-off, Open House (1989โ90). Keller later had lead roles in the short-lived sitcoms Baby Talk (1991โ92), Camp Wilder (1992โ93), and Joe's Life (1993).
1961John Matteson, American biographer[โ ]
John Matteson is an American professor of English and legal writing at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City. He won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography for his first book, Eden's Outcasts: The Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Father.
1961Perry McCarthy, English race car driver[โ ]
Perry Edward McCarthy is a British racing driver, who drove for the Andrea Moda team in Formula One in 1992, though never making it into a race, before moving into sportscars, including driving in the 24 Hours of Le Mans five times between 1996 and 2003.
1961Fatima Whitbread, English javelin thrower[โ ]
Fatima Whitbread, is a British retired javelin thrower. She broke the world record with a throw of 77.44ย m in the qualifying round of the 1986 European Athletics Championships in Stuttgart, and became the first British athlete to set a world record in a throwing event. Whitbread went on to win the European title that year, and took the gold medal at the 1987 World Championships. She is also a two-time Olympic medallist, winning bronze at the 1984 Summer Olympics and silver at the 1988 Summer Olympics. She won the same medals, respectively, in the Commonwealth Games of 1982 and 1986.
Notable Deaths

1961Azizul Haq, Bengali Islamic scholar (born 1903)[โ ]
Azizul Haque was an Islamic scholar and social reformer from present-day Bangladesh. He was the founder of Al-Jamiah al-Islamiyyah Patiya and served as its first chancellor.
1961Paul Wittgenstein, Austrian-American pianist (born 1887)[โ ]
Paul Wittgenstein was an Austrian-American concert pianist notable for commissioning new piano concerti for the left hand alone, after his right arm was amputated during World War I. He devised novel techniques, including pedal and hand-movement combinations, that allowed him to play chords previously thought impossible for a five-fingered pianist.
Historical Context for March 3, 1961
In 1961, the world population was approximately 3,064,869,675 people[โ ]