1961 in the United States

← → Events from the year 1961 in the United States.

"I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth."

January 20: John F. Kennedy becomes the 35th U.S. president
Lyndon B. Johnson becomes the 37th U.S. vice president
President John F. Kennedy addresses a joint session of Congress, with Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson and House Speaker Sam Rayburn seated behind him
President Kennedy delivers his proposal to put a man on the Moon before a joint session of Congress, May 25, 1961