March 1961 - March 13, 1961 (Monday)

March 13, 1961 (Monday)

• A dam burst on the Dnieper River in the Ukrainian SSR, killing 145. The disaster was not reported in the Soviet press until March 31, when it was referred to in Pravda.
• The 22,349 foot high Himalayan mountain Ama Dablam was climbed for the first time, by the team of Barry Bishop, Mike Ward, Mike Gill, and Wally Romanes.
• United States delegate to the UNSC Adlai Stevenson voted against Portuguese policies in Africa.
• President of the United States John F. Kennedy proposed a long-term "Alliance for Progress" between the United States and Latin America.
• Cyprus joined the Commonwealth of Nations, becoming the first small country in the Commonwealth.