Historical eventJune 41961

Cold War

Cold War: In the Vienna summit, the Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev sparks the Berlin Crisis by threatening to sign a separate peace treaty with East Germany and ending American, British and French access to East Berlin.

Everything on June 4Original source

In context

When
Sunday, June 4 196165 years ago
Category
Historical eventA dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
Era
20th century · 1960s
Recorded from
Wikipedia “On this day” feed

At a glance

Dates: 1945 – 1991-12-25.

What happened

The Cold War was a period of international geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc. It began in the aftermath of the Second World War and ended with the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. The term cold war is used because there was no direct fighting between the two superpowers, though each supported opposing sides in regional conflicts known as proxy wars.

June 4 through the years

Other entries on the same calendar day, in order.

  1. 1961Cold War
  2. 1996Ariane 5
  3. 1998Terry Nichols
  4. 2004Granby, Colorado
  5. 2005Civic Forum of the Romanians of Covasna, Harghita and Mureș
  6. 2010Dragon Spacecraft Qualification Unit
  7. 2020Death of Giovanni López
  8. 20232023 Polish protests
  9. 2023Cessna Citation V
  10. 20252025 Bengaluru crowd crush
  11. 2025Crowd collapses and crushes

Also in 1961

  • March 14United States Air ForceA USAF B-52 bomber carrying nuclear weapons crashes near Yuba City, California.
  • September 16National Hurricane Research ProjectThe U.S. National Hurricane Research Project sought to weaken Hurricane Esther by seeding it with silver iodide, leading to the establish…
  • September 16Typhoon Nancy (1961)Typhoon Nancy (pictured), which possibly had the strongest winds ever measured in a tropical cyclone, made landfall in Muroto, Japan.
  • September 17Civic Arena (Pittsburgh)The world's first retractable roof stadium, the Civic Arena, opens in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
  • September 181961 Ndola Transair Sweden Douglas DC-6 crashAn aircraft crashed near Ndola in Northern Rhodesia, resulting in the deaths of 16 people, including United Nations secretary-general Dag…
  • October 20Soviet NavyThe Soviet Navy performs the first armed test of a submarine-launched ballistic missile, launching an R-13 from a Golf-class submarine.
  • May 25Joint session of the United States CongressIn an address to Congress, U.S. president John F. Kennedy announced his support for the Apollo program, with "the goal, before this decad…
  • May 25Bukit Ho Swee fireA fire broke out at a squatter settlement in Bukit Ho Swee, Singapore, rendering approximately 16,000 people homeless.

Everything we record for 1961 →

Sources

Cite this page

“Cold War”, What's On This Date, https://whatsonthisdate.com/app/event/cold-war-1961-june-4, accessed October 24, 2026.

Cite the underlying source as well — the source links above go to the record this entry is adapted from.

Questions about this entry

When did Cold War happen?

June 4 1961 — 65 years ago, on a Sunday.

Where does this text come from?

Wikipedia “On this day” feed. Summaries are short adaptations that link back to the source, not reprints.

How do I cite this page?

Use the ready-made citation near the sources at the bottom of the page, and follow the source link to cite the underlying record as well.

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