1960s Timeline

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May 28

JFK Jr. Walks

May 28, 1962 - John F. Kennedy Jr., who began walking about two weeks ago, demonstrated his new skills for his father last Friday. It was the 18-month-old’s first visit to the President’s office in the White House, and pictures of the event were made by Chief Robert Knudsen of the Navy. Mrs. Kennedy will include them in a birthday album for the President, who turns 45 tomorrow. #JFK #1960s #history #OTD #podcast #politics

May 28

President Kennedy Commemorates Memorial Day

May 28, 1962 - The nation will observe Memorial Day today with a request by President Kennedy that Americans reserve an hour of their time to pray for a world of peace. “Memorial Day each year provides a fitting occasion upon which Americans may not only pay tribute to our honored dead but also unite in prayer for success in our search for a just and lasting peace,” the President said. The President’s older brother, Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. (pictured right in 1942), was killed i

May 27

Mets Swept by Giants in Fight-Filled Doubleheader

May 27, 1962 - Casey Stengel’s Mets lost both ends of a doubleheader to the Giants today in San Francisco. In the opener, marked by a seventh-inning brawl, the Mets bowed to the team they have replaced in New York, 7-1. Then, just as it looked as though the Mets would gain some revenge in the second engagement, Stengel’s cast collapsed under a four-run eighth that gave the Giants the game, 6-5. As for the brawl, the principal characters were Mets Roger Craig and Elio Chacon a

May 27

Documentary: "Red China," Narrated by Chet Huntley

May 27, 1962 - Here is a two-part documentary, narrated by Chet Huntley, called “Red China.” The film traces the consolidation of power by Mao Tse-tung and China’s Communist Party. Part 1: https://bit.ly/3n0ymnR Part 2: https://bit.ly/3Ht6jW2 #history #1960s #podcast #politics #OTD #coldwar #china #communistchina

May 27

Comdr. Carpenter Honored at Cape Canaveral

May 27, 1962 - Lieut. Comdr. Scott Carpenter returned to the starting point of his space journey at Cape Canaveral today and was honored as a national hero. He admitted that as an “impatient” and “preoccupied” man he had made a few mistakes in orbit. “There were mistakes,” he said in a low, quiet voice, “and I am glad because we have learned a great deal from these mistakes.” But as the 37-year-old Navy pilot gave a “report of a working astronaut to the nation,” the emphasis

May 26

Dodgers Beat Phillies, 6-3, as Koufax Strikes Out 16

May 26, 1962 - Sandy Koufax struck out 16 Philadelphia batters today and collected a run-scoring single in leading the Dodgers to a 6-3 victory over the Phillies. The triumph was the sixth in a row for Los Angeles. Going the distance for the second game in succession, Koufax limited the Phillies to five hits. His strikeout effort marked the third time this year he has fanned 10 or more batters in a game. Koufax now has struck out 10 or more batters in 34 different games durin

May 26

Tigers Top Yanks, 2-1, as Lefty Hank Aguirre Dominates

May 26, 1962 - Yankee bats suddenly lost their power today whenever a potential run reached base at Yankee Stadium. This unbecoming impotency stemmed directly from the fine left-handed pitching of Hank Aguirre (pictured right with manager Bob Scheffing and Rocky Colavito) as the Detroit Tigers scored a 2-1 triumph. An injury to Al Kaline on the last play of the game prevented Detroit’s fifth consecutive victory from being a happy occasion. The Tiger right fielder made a divin

May 26

Leonard Bernstein Walks Out of Segregated Restaurant in Baltimore

May 26, 1962 - Leonard Bernstein (pictured), the conductor, walked out of a Baltimore restaurant yesterday when he was told that a Negro in his party could not be served. The headwaiter at the restaurant, Teddy Cook, said today: “One of the gentlemen called me aside and said that a colored man would be in the party. I said, ‘I’m sorry, but we’re not integrated here,’ and they left. There was no disorder, no embarrassment.” Mr. Cook said that the Bernstein party left before th

May 26

Governor Rockefeller Speaks in Philadelphia

May 26, 1962 - Governor Rockefeller called today for a renewed faith in the American dream and an extension of that dream to freedom-seekers everywhere. Mr. Rockefeller spoke to a gathering of several thousand in Philadelphia’s Independence Square. The ceremonies were part of the program on a banner day for American Baptists, who dedicated their new $8 million national headquarters at neighboring Valley Forge. Himself a Baptist, the New York Governor said, “We have developed

May 26

Pravda Credits Astronaut Carpenter's "Courage and Endurance"

May 26, 1962 - Pravda published today a dramatic account of Lieut. Comdr. Scott Carpenter’s troubles in space but praised the American astronaut for his “great courage and endurance.” The report by Pravda’s New York correspondent, S. Vishnyevsky, described Commander Carpenter’s discomfort when cabin temperatures aboard the Aurora VII rose to 102 degrees. “From Cape Canaveral, the experts suggested to Carpenter that he drink as much water as possible. They couldn’t give him an

May 26

Attorney General Hosts Puppet Show and Cookout

May 26, 1962 - More than 100 children jammed Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy’s office today for a puppet and magic show, then adjourned to the Justice Building’s courtyard for a cookout. The youthful crowd was composed of Congressmens’ sons and daughters ranging in age from 5 to 9. They toured the offices and laboratories of the F.B.I. before being greeted by the Attorney General and Mrs. Ethel Kennedy (pictured with their seven children in February). Headed by the Kennedy

May 26

Good Week for Government Forces in South Vietnam

May 26, 1962 - U.S Army and Marine helicopters carried Vietnamese troops in a raid today against remnants of two Communist guerrilla battalions that were routed Wednesday on the Plains of Reeds. But unlike the successful earlier operation, the new hunt flushed only a handful of Viet Cong. Nearly 1,000 troops of the Seventh Division spent several hours combing the marshy flats of Kien Tuong Province and killed only three Viet Cong. Despite today’s failure, the week was one of

May 26

Carpenter's Errors Disclosed by Project Mercury Officials

May 26, 1962 - Lieut. Comdr. Scott Carpenter made the mistake of leaving two control systems in operation in the final phase of his flight in the Aurora VII before firing the retro rockets to bring him out of orbit. This apparently accounts for the fact that the fuel supply on both systems reached dangerously low points. It does not necessarily account for the fact that the space capsule overshot its intended landing spot by 250 miles. Disclosure of the error was made by Proj

May 25

Dodgers Destroy Mets, 17-8, in Los Angeles

May 25, 1962 - Disaster engulfed the Mets on all fronts tonight as the Dodgers swept the three-game series with a crushing 17-8 triumph before 26,907 in Los Angeles. It was the largest score by a Dodger team since Walter Alston’s cast moved to the West Coast from Brooklyn after the 1957 season. Routing Al Jackson in the third, the Dodgers scored six runs in the inning and added six in the sixth. Maury Wills (pictured) paced the Dodger attack with four hits and three stolen ba

May 25

Astronaut Scott Carpenter Perfectly Healthy

May 25, 1962 - The Project Mercury medical team pronounced Lieut. Commander Scott Carpenter today to have come through five hours in space with no significant physiological effects. The only physical reaction that surprised and somewhat puzzled the physicians was the action of the astronaut’s heart and blood system under the stresses of the spaceflight. At various times during the flight, it was disclosed, his blood pressure reached relatively high levels (210 plus over 60) w

May 25

Frankie Carbo Chooses Alcatraz: "It's Cleaner There"

May 25, 1962 - Frankie Carbo went to Alcatraz Penitentiary today at his own request. The 57-year-old underworld figure had been in Los Angeles County Jail awaiting his appeal on a Federal conviction of attempting to obtain a share of the contract of Don Jordan, former welterweight champion, by threatening bodily harm to the boxer’s manager, Don Nesseth, and a fight promoter, Jackie Leonard. Carbo was a gunman with Murder, Inc. before transitioning into one of the most powerfu

May 25

NASA's Schedule for the 1960s

May 25, 1962 - Now that Lieut. Comdr. Scott Carpenter has duplicated the success of Lieut. Col. John H. Glenn Jr. on a three-orbit Mercury flight, project officials are expected to press on to more ambitious things. The goal is to land a three-man expedition on the moon by the end of the decade. With luck, it is thought, this might be accomplished by 1968. NASA hopes to carry out the interim steps in accord with this approximate timetable: 1962 — A mission lasting up to seven

May 25

Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy Speaks on Civil Rights

May 25, 1962 - Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy received two awards in New York City yesterday. In the afternoon, he was given the fourth annual Labor Award of the Samuel Gompers Vocational and Technical High School in the Bronx and inducted into the Gompers Labor Hall of Fame. At the presentation ceremony in the school auditorium, Mr. Kennedy said that in his recent world tour the major interest of students he met was in civil rights in this country. He asserted that under

May 24

Giants Top Phillies, 7-4, as Willie Hits Two Homers

May 24, 1962 - Willie Mays hit a pair of home runs today as the San Francisco Giants scored a 7-4 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. The National League leaders ended a three-game losing streak. Given a rest on the bench last night, Mays returned to hit a bases-empty homer in the sixth on Cal McLish’s first pitch to him. He blasted his second homer, No. 13 for the season, with one aboard in the seventh. Orlando Cepeda crashed a homer in the sixth — his thirteenth — to sh

May 24

The Origin of "Aurora VII"

May 24, 1962 - It seems fitting that Lieut. Comdr. Scott Carpenter’s reasons for naming his spacecraft Aurora VII are both lofty and down-to-earth. Exercising the pilot’s prerogative of naming the bell-shaped 3,000-pound craft, he said he had chosen Aurora VII because: “I think of Project Mercury and the open manner in which we are conducting it for the benefit of all as a light in the sky. Aurora also means dawn — in this case, dawn of a new age. The seven, of course, stands