1960s Timeline

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Jan 31, 2022

Gallo Gang Rescues Six Children from Brooklyn Blaze

Jan. 31, 1962 - Seven members of the Gallo gang rescued six children today in Brooklyn when a fire in a mattress filled a top-floor apartment at 73 President Street with smoke. The gang’s headquarters is at 51 President Street. The seven gangsters had just left a nearby restaurant when they saw smoke pouring from the apartment, which is occupied by Mrs. Sista Biaz and her six children (pictured with three members of the Gallo gang). Mrs. Biaz was shopping and the children app

Jan 9, 2022

Nixon Responds to Governor Brown's Charges

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, 2022

California Gov. Brown Hits Nixon for "Courting Radicals of the Right"

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 3, 2022

U.S. Seeks to Isolate Cuba over Communist Ties

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, 2021

South Vietnam To Use New Techniques to Attack Reds

Dec. 31, 1961 - Aided by a build-up in U.S. military support, South Vietnam is preparing a strong counter-offensive against Communist guerrilla forces threatening President Diem’s pro-Western Government. Numerous techniques are being inaugurated to help turn the tide of battle against the Viet Cong, as the Communist guerrillas are called. One of these techniques is “defoliation” from the air (pictured), a chemical means of stripping leaves from the foliage that hides Viet Con

Dec 31, 2021

Kennedy and Khrushchev Exchange New Year's Greetings

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 30, 2021

G.I. Kidnapped in Vietnam is Still Alive

Dec. 30, 1961 - A United States Army specialist kidnapped by Communist guerrillas on Christmas Day is alive, reliable sources said today. The sources said that the guerrillas had displayed the 26-year-old soldier before gatherings of peasants as an “American imperialist trying to conquer South Vietnam.” The soldier, a teacher of English evening classes, was riding a bicycle toward a village north of Saigon to visit one of his students when he was kidnapped. Since the incident

Dec 29, 2021

U.S. Military Personnel Told to Stay Within Saigon City Limits

Dec. 29, 1961 - American military personnel in South Vietnam were instructed today to stay within the Saigon (pictured) city limits. Military officials also urged the soldiers to travel with companions whenever possible. The action followed official confirmation by the military advisory group that a 26-year-old American army specialist was missing. He was last seen on the streets of Saigon Christmas morning. The young soldier taught several evening classes in English and had

Dec 29, 2021

Former First Lady Edith Wilson is Dead

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 28, 2021

U.S. Army Sergeant Believed Kidnapped by Viet Cong

Dec. 28, 1961 - A United States Army sergeant is believed to have been kidnapped by the Viet Cong (pictured), as the Communist guerrillas in Vietnam are known. The soldier disappeared on Christmas while on a holiday trip near Saigon. Since then, helicopter and ground search parties have been constantly looking for him. The latest Communist propaganda in Saigon now blares: “Kill all Americans!” and “Throw the American imperialists out of South Vietnam!” The reported kidnapping

Dec 27, 2021

World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan to Go Forward

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, 2021

President Passes Physical Exam

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, 2021

Ike Visits Disneyland

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, 2021

East German Border Guards Arrest Three for Waving at Relatives

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, 2021

Somber Christmas for Kennedy Family

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, 2021

U.S. Army Helicopter Crashes Near Saigon

Dec. 25, 1961 - Two South Vietnamese paratroopers were killed and three Americans injured Saturday when a U.S. Army helicopter crashed near Communist guerrilla territory west of Saigon. The helicopter was carrying the South Vietnamese paratroopers on a combat mission. Communist rebels fired a mortar and rifles at the fallen helicopter, hitting its body. The American crewmen burned the aircraft to keep it out of rebel hands. The helicopter was one of 36 that arrived in Saigon

Dec 25, 2021

President Kennedy Delivers Christmas Message to West Berliners

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

Dec 24, 2021

President's Father Has Pneumonia, Undergoes Surgery

Dec. 24, 1961 - Joseph P. Kennedy (pictured last Christmas Eve with his wife Rose), partly paralyzed by a stroke, has been stricken with pneumonia. He underwent surgery today to relieve congestion. An announcement by Pierre Salinger, White House Secretary, said: “The President’s father incurred a mild pneumonia during the past 24 hours. The doctors began at 3:45 p.m. to perform a tracheotomy to relieve the congestion in the chest and throat.” In a tracheotomy, the windpipe is

Dec 24, 2021

Robert F. Kennedy Plays Santa in Negro Ward of St. Mary's Hospital

Dec. 24, 1961 - Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy played Santa Claus today for children in the Negro ward at St. Mary’s Hospital, where is father is recovering from a stroke. He ducked in a back door to deliver a load of toys. Nurses said he told them he did not want word of his gifts to get out. But it was a hard secret to keep in a hospital at Christmas time. The Attorney General let the youngsters open one of their presents while he watched. But he told them that each wou

Dec 23, 2021

President's Father Shows Improvement

Dec. 23, 1961 - Joseph P. Kennedy, President Kennedy’s 73-year-old father, improved “considerably” in the last 24 hours, it was announced today. Although the former Ambassador to Britain is regarded as out of danger, his functional recovery remained in doubt. There has been slight functional improvement of the right leg, but Mr. Kennedy is still unable to speak. President Kennedy planned at least one visit to his father’s bedside in Palm Beach’s St. Mary’s Hospital today. His