On this day

March 31, 1966

Revisit the music, news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.

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Headlines from March 31, 1966

Music on My Birthday

Billboard 200

The Top 50 albums for the chart week of March 30, 1966, covering March 31, 1966.

  1. 1
    Album cover for Ballads Of The Green Berets by SSgt Barry Sadler

    Ballads Of The Green Berets

    SSgt Barry Sadler

    Last week
    1
    Peak
    1
    Weeks
    6
  2. 2
    Album cover for !!Going Places!! by Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass

    !!Going Places!!

    Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass

    Last week
    3
    Peak
    1
    Weeks
    25
  3. 3
    Album cover for Whipped Cream & Other Delights by Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass

    Whipped Cream & Other Delights

    Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass

    Last week
    2
    Peak
    1
    Weeks
    47
  4. 4
    Album cover for The Sound Of Music by Soundtrack

    The Sound Of Music

    Soundtrack

    Last week
    4
    Peak
    1
    Weeks
    55
  5. 5
    Album cover for Just Like Us! by Paul Revere & The Raiders

    Just Like Us!

    Paul Revere & The Raiders

    Last week
    7
    Peak
    5
    Weeks
    9

Notable Births

Roger Black

1966Roger Black, English runner and journalist[†]

Roger Anthony Black MBE is an English former athlete who competed internationally for Great Britain and England. During his athletics career, he won individual silver medals in the 400 metres sprint at both the Olympic Games and World Championships, two individual gold medals at the European Championships, and 4 × 400 metres relay gold medals at both the World and European Championships.

1966Nick Firestone, American race car driver[†]

Nicholas Stanley Firestone is an American former race car driver.

Historical Events

Soviet Union

1966The Soviet Union launches Luna 10 which later becomes the first space probe to enter orbit around the Moon.[†]

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until it dissolved in 1991. During its existence, it was the largest country by area, extending across eleven time zones and sharing borders with twelve countries, and the third-most populous country. An overall successor to the Russian Empire, it was nominally organized as a federal union of national republics, the largest and most populous of which was the Russian SFSR. In practice, its government and economy were highly centralized. As a one-party state governed by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), it was a flagship communist state. Its capital and largest city was Moscow.

1966The Labour Party under Harold Wilson wins the 1966 United Kingdom general election.[†]

The Labour Party, often referred to as Labour, is a political party in the United Kingdom that sits on the centre-left of the political spectrum. The party has been described as an alliance of social democrats, democratic socialists and trade unionists. It is one of the two dominant political parties in the United Kingdom; the other being the Conservative Party. Labour has been led by Keir Starmer since 2020, who became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom following the 2024 general election. To date, there have been 12 Labour governments and seven different Labour Prime Ministers – MacDonald, Attlee, Wilson, Callaghan, Blair, Brown and Starmer.

Historical Context for March 31, 1966

In 1966, the world population was approximately 3,404,041,125 people[†]