Friday, August 4, 1961 · Honolulu, Hawaii
The world the day Barack Obama was born
Barack Obama, the 44th U.S. president, arrived on a Friday in Honolulu, Hawaii. This is what was on the radio, in the sky and on the price tags that day.
#1 that week
“Tossin' And Turnin'”
Bobby Lewis
The moon
waning crescent
Star sign
♌ Leo
Year of the Ox
U.S. president
John F. Kennedy
On every radio
The song at #1 the week Barack was born
“Tossin' And Turnin'” by Bobby Lewis topped the Billboard Hot 100 for 7 weeks, taking over from “Quarter To Three”.
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Cost of living
What things cost in 1961
U.S. averages for the year Barack Obama was born, next to the latest figures (Jul 2025).
- Postage stamp4¢ → 78¢ today (20×)
- Minimum wage$1.00 → $7.25 today (7.3×)
In the news
The year 1961
- Jan 3 · Cold War: After a series of economic retaliations against one another, the United States severs diplomatic relations with Cuba.
- Jan 3 · The SL-1 nuclear reactor, near Idaho Falls, Idaho, is destroyed by a steam explosion in the only reactor incident in the United States to cause immediate fatalities.
- Feb 14 · Lawrencium, the radioactive synthetic element with atomic number 103, was first synthesized at the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley.
- Apr 11 · The trial of Adolf Eichmann begins in Jerusalem.
- Apr 20 · Cold War: Failure of the Bay of Pigs Invasion of US-backed Cuban exiles against Cuba.
Born around the same time
Barack Obama shares a birth year with…
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Questions
When was Barack Obama born?
Barack Obama was born on Friday, August 4, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii.
What day of the week was Barack Obama born?
A Friday. August 4, 1961 fell on a Friday.
What was the #1 song when Barack Obama was born?
“Tossin' And Turnin'” by Bobby Lewis was number one on the Billboard Hot 100 the week Barack Obama was born. It spent 7 weeks at #1.
What is Barack Obama’s zodiac sign?
Barack Obama is a Leo (born Aug 4), and was born in the Chinese year of the Ox.
What was the moon like when Barack Obama was born?
A waning crescent moon, about 36% lit, on the night of August 4, 1961.
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