1960s Timeline

May 10, 1962 - J. Edgar Hoover finished his 38th year as Director of the FBI today, adding to what President Kennedy called “one of the most unusual and distinguished records in the history of government service.” The tribute, in a letter from the President, was one of many paid to the FBI director by city, state, and national officials as he passed another milestone in his long career. Aides said Mr. Hoover, 67, followed his custom of treating the anniversary like any other

Jan. 28, 1962 - Alvin “Creepy” Karpis (pictured in 1936), once listed as United States Public Enemy No. 1, is seeking a deportation parole that would allow him to return to his native Montreal. Karpis, 53 years old, has been in Alcatraz Prison for 25 years. Karpis was a child when his parents migrated to Topeka, Kan., from Montreal. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for conspiracy in the 1933 kidnapping of William Hamm, a brewer from St. Paul, Minn. The gang that did the

Sept. 30, 1961 - The American Communist party is moving farther underground in order to resist the Supreme Court's ruling that the party must register as an arm of the Soviet Union, J. Edgar Hoover said today. He said that Gus Hall, general secretary of the party, had been touring the country, urging members to destroy documents that might be used in prosecutions against them. The Supreme Court ruled last June 5 that the party must register with the Justice Department as a fo

Aug. 3, 1961 - The Federal Aviation Agency authorized U.S. airlines today to arm their crews on all flights. Meanwhile, the Administration and Congress prepared to push stringent legislation to discourage new attempts at the hijacking of airliners. These events followed the hijacking and recapture this morning of a Continental Airlines jet in Texas. The development held the attention of President Kennedy, both houses of Congress, and several departments of the Government. It

Aug. 3, 1961 - Leon Bearden (left), a 38-year-old former convict, and his 16-year-old son Cody (right) hijacked a jet airliner in the air today. They held control of it for nine hours before they were captured. Sixty-seven passengers and six crew members were aboard the Boeing 707 when the hijackers seized it and ordered the pilot to fly to Cuba. The elder Bearden, due to a host of financial and psychological problems, had decided that the U.S. was rotten to the core. His pla