The Seattle tower, 605 feet tall, was built for the 1962 World’s Fair and became a symbol of the Pacific Northwest city. Construction was completed in December 1961. (Ted S. Warren / Associated Press)
Loosely based on the novella of the same name by Truman Capote, “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” starred Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly. It opened in theaters Oct. 5, 1961. (Christies / Ronald Grant Archive / Associated Press)
The 44th president of the United States turned 50 on Aug. 4. (Matt Rourke / Associated Press)
Block by block, the wall dividing Berlin began going up in August 1961, separating west from east, capitalism from communism. (EPA)
When he was introduced to the world in March 1961, Ken wore only red swim trunks and sandals and carried a yellow terry-cloth towel. Like his companion doll, Barbie, Ken’s look changed through the years. Above, Ken in 1961, 1972, 1984 and 1992. (Paul Jordan / Mattel)
Since President Kennedy launched the federal program to bring healthcare, economic assistance and educational aid to the most impoverished corners of the world, more than 200,000 Americans have served in 139 countries. Above, a volunteer teaches children in a village in the Peruvian Andes to make tapestries based on their own ideas, to sell to tourists. (Associated Press)
The Anaheim-based baseball team was founded by Gene Autry in 1961. Above, Pitcher Tyler Chatwood with a 50th-anniversary patch on his uniform in May. (J. Meric / Getty Images)
In a speech to Congress on May 25, 1961, President Kennedy issued the challenge for NASA to send a man to the moon. That challenge was met on July 20, 1969, when Apollo 11’s lunar module landed on the lunar surface. In the background are then-Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, left, and the House speaker at the time, Sam Rayburn. (Associated Press)
The CBS show starring Van Dyke as TV comedy writer Rob Petrie lasted five seasons, but with a cast that included Mary Tyler Moore as his young, fashionable wife, it went on to become one of television’s classic comedies. (CBS)
The cartoon mascot for StarKist Tuna even received a giant AARP card in February. (Del Monte Foods)
President Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and members of the national security team receive an update on the mission against Osama bin Laden in the Situation Room of the White House. The room was created by President Kennedy after the failed Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba. (Pete Souza / White House)
Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, above, became the first human in space during a single-orbit flight on April 12, 1961. On May 5, Alan Shephard Jr. became the first American in space, in a suborbital flight aboard Mercury 3. (Associated Press)
The Jaguar E-Type, a British automobile legend, caused a sensation when it debuted at the Geneva Motor Show in 1961. New York‘s Museum of Modern Art added one of the roadsters to its permanent design collection in 1996. (File photo)
Mr. Bubble, the iconic bubble bath, celebrated its 50th birthday in June with the “World’s Largest Bubble Bath Birthday Party,” featuring an 11-by-16-foot bathtub and a bubble play area in Minneapolis. (Jacob Gibb / PR News)
The great Outer Beach has been protected since 1961, when President Kennedy signed legislation establishing 40 miles of pristine beach, marshland, ponds and upland forests as the Cape Cod National Seashore. (Margo Tabb / Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce)
The Canadian hockey player was nicknamed “The Great One.” He is generally regarded as the best player in the history of the National Hockey League. When he retired in 1999, he held 40 regular-season records. (Associated Press)
Founded in London in 1961, the nonprofit organization draws attention to human rights abuses around the world. Its symbol, a lighted candle surrounded by barbed wire, was reproduced during a 50-year-celebration church service in London in May. (Ben Stansall / AFP/Getty Images)
Michael J. Fox, Meg Ryan, George Clooney, Heather Locklear and Eddie Murphy will all pass the half-century mark this year. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times, Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times, Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times, Getty Images, AFP/Getty Images)
The world-famous teething toy originated in France, where chewing on a Sophie has become a rite of passage for babies. It came to the United States in 2000.
