1960s Timeline

Jan. 25, 1962 - Texas Senator Ralph Yarborough (pictured far left in 1960) took himself out of his state’s gubernatorial race today. The Democratic Senator said that President Kennedy’s advice had been a factor in his decision. He added, however, that the President’s position on his possible candidacy had not been “overriding.” Mr. Yarborough told a news conference that the President telephoned him in December to discuss the gubernatorial question. It was also in December tha

Jan. 24, 1962 - California Governor Edmund G. Brown (pictured center in 1959) formally became a Democratic candidate for a second term today with an attack on former Vice President Nixon. In a speech, Gov. Brown accused Mr. Nixon of having labeled Sacramento, the state capital, as merely “a whistle stop on the line to Washington.” The Governor declared that Californians would not permit Mr. Nixon “to convert the Governor’s chair into Nixon-for-President national headquarters.

Jan. 23, 1962 - Jack Drucker (pictured in 1939), 56, once associated with the Murder Inc. ring, was found dead today in his cell at Attica State Prison. A spokesman at Attica said that Drucker, who was serving 25 years to life, died of a coronary occlusion. Murder, Inc., headed by Louis “Lepke” Buchalter and Albert “The Mad Hatter” Anastasia and composed of Jewish-American and Italian-American gangsters, committed hundreds of murders on behalf of the National Crime Syndicate

Jan. 17, 1962 - Police Commissioner Eugene “Bull” Connor (pictured) said today that he would seek the nomination for Governor of Alabama in the May 1 Democratic primary. He indicated that the racial issue would be in the fore of his campaign. Mr. Connor, a segregationist, said that Alabama “needs a Governor in the coming four years whom the people can trust completely on this racial issue, one who will do everything that can be done to stop the slaughter of the right of the s

Jan. 16, 1962 - The U.S. Army has begun withdrawing its armored guard, including 15 tanks, from a camp on the Friedrichstrasse on the border between West and East Berlin. The move, which began last night, was described today by sources as a gesture to the Soviet Union to “normalize” the Berlin situation. An Army spokesman said the purpose of withdrawing the armored infantry task force to Tempelhof Airfield, about two miles from the border, was “to improve the disposition of U

Jan. 16, 1962 - Former Gov. Goodwin J. Knight (pictured left in 1958) withdrew today from the California gubernatorial race because of ill health. His action removed a major obstacle to former Vice President Nixon’s bid for the Republican gubernatorial nomination. Mr. Nixon expressed “sympathy and best wishes” for Mr. Knight. Gov. Edmund G. Brown, a Democrat, was elected in 1958 after Mr. Knight had been maneuvered out of a bid for re-election by Republican intra-party jockey

Jan. 13, 1962 - Senator Barry Goldwater urged Republican party workers today to shape a clearly conservative image for the party. The Arizona conservative was the final speaker at a two-day meeting of the Republican National Committee in Oklahoma City. “The Republican Party has failed to present to this nation a solid political organization unequivocally committed to an easily definable political philosophy,” Mr. Goldwater said. He assailed “two-faced images.” He said the par

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 s

Jan. 9, 1962 - Former Vice President Nixon said today that both Democrats and Republicans needed “responsible leadership which will avoid the extremes of the far left and the far right.” His remarks, in partial reply to charges by Gov. Edmund G. Brown, were prepared for delivery at a birthday dinner at Whittier College. Mr. Nixon, 49 years old today, was guest of honor at his alma mater. Governor Brown charged yesterday that Mr. Nixon was soft on the John Birch Society and ex

Jan. 8, 1962 - Gov. Edmund G. Brown (pictured in 1958) of California charged former Vice President Nixon today with courting political support of the John Birch Society and other “radicals of the right.” Governor Brown, a Democrat, told a National Press Club audience that right-wing extremists had become a strong political force in California and threatened to take control of the Republican party organization. A fear of communism had caused many Californians to lose sight of

Jan. 5, 1962 - Three Brooklyn hoodlums learned today that they were their own worst enemies. They were arrested for consorting with known criminals — themselves. The three, all said to be underworld associates of racketeer Joseph Profaci, were: John (Johnny Bath Beach) Oddo, 56 (pictured), who described himself as a dress manufacturer; Joseph (Minxie) Livoti, 52, who said he was a fabric cutter; and Salvatore (Little Sammie) Peritore, 48, a self-styled shoulder pads salesman.

Jan. 3, 1962 - The United States has told the Inter-American Peace Committee that Cuba “represents a bridgehead of Sino-Soviet imperialism and a base for Communist agitation and subversion within the inner defense of the Western Hemisphere.” In a 12,000-word document to the committee Dec. 6, the United States said that Cuba had received “tens of thousands of tons” of weapons from Communist countries valued at roughly $80 million. This, it was said, puts Cuba in a position to

Dec. 31, 1961 - President Kennedy and Premier Khrushchev, in an exchange of New Year’s greetings made public today, assured each other of a firm resolve to find a durable peace in 1962. Wishing the Russian people “a peaceful and prosperous New Year,” Mr. Kennedy expressed the hope that 1962 “will bring an improvement in the relations between our countries, upon which so much depends.” The Soviet Premier wished “peace and happiness” to all Americans and to the President and hi

Dec. 29, 1961 - Mrs. Edith Wilson (pictured in 1915), the former First Lady, died last night at the stately Washington townhouse that became her home when she and the World War I President left the White House more than 40 years ago. She was 89 years old. Mrs. Wilson, who had no children, married the President when he was serving his first term. She shared many of Wilson’s political and wartime trials and finally, acting as intermediary between him and his associates during h

Dec. 27, 1961 - The end of a long-standing legislative impasse between New York and New Jersey appeared imminent today. Governor-elect Richard J. Hughes (pictured with President Kennedy in October), meeting with the Democratic majority in the 1962 State Assembly, won its unqualified endorsement of legislation that would enable the Port of New York Authority to erect a World Trade Center in lower Manhattan and to purchase and operate the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad. The legi

Dec. 27, 1961 - President Kennedy passed his physical examination today with high marks, but did not quite make straight A’s. The President is in “excellent general health” and exercises have strengthened his back, the official bulletin said, but he is not yet in shape for vigorous physical activity. Dr. Preston Wade of the New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center, whose principal field is orthopedics, made the examination of the President. The President strained a muscle in

Dec. 26, 1961 - General Dwight D. Eisenhower and his family visited Disneyland today, and the former President seemed almost as delighted as his four grandchildren. “Oh boy, Mamie, look at that!” Gen. Eisenhower exclaimed to his wife when he saw the amusement park’s version of a Mississippi riverboat. The general went on some rides himself. But he contented himself with watching when the children rode about in miniature cars with the help of their parents, Lieut. Col. John S.

Dec. 25, 1961 - Communist border guards arrested three East Berliners today who waved at relatives in the West across the wall dividing the city, the West Berlin police said. The three, two men and a woman, approached the wall from the eastern side across from the French sector. Witnesses told police the three were arrested immediately and taken away in a truck. It was the only border incident reported on what the West Berlin police described as an unusually quiet day along t

Dec. 25, 1961 - President Kennedy and his family observed the customs of Christmas today, but misfortune dimmed the merriment. Joseph P. Kennedy, the head of the family that now counts 20 grandchildren, lay partly paralyzed from the effects of a stroke. The President, looking drawn, stayed at his father’s bedside until nearly midnight yesterday and returned there after 10 o’clock mass this morning. The First Lady was at his side. As they left the hospital 50 minutes later, Ba

Dec. 25, 1961 - President Kennedy told West Berliners in a Christmas message today that the beacon of freedom in Berlin “will continue to shine brightly for many years to come.” “We are at your side — as before. We shall stay,” the President declared on a special television program. “Until truly there is goodwill among men, not walls to divide them, our pursuit of peace shall continue.” Gen. Lucius Clay, the President’s personal representative in Berlin, said in a message on