Jan. 10, 1962 - The election-year session of the 87th Congress opened today. The chief event was the election of John W. McCormack (right) of Massachusetts as Speaker of the House, succeeding the late Sam Rayburn. After short meetings, both chambers adjourned to await President Kennedy’s State of the Union Message in a joint session at 12:30 p.m. tomorrow. Mr. McCormack took the oath as Speaker from Representative Carl Vinson, Democrat of Georgia. He had asked Mr. Vinson to swear him in as a matter of courtesy to the House member with the longest service.
