1960s Timeline

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6 days ago

Cubans Insist Air Cover Was Promised for ’61 Bay of Pigs Invasion

Jan. 24, 1963 - Despite denials by President Kennedy, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, and Col. José Perez-San Roman, brigade commander, Cubans closely involved in the Bay of Pigs invasion insist that air cover was promised them by the U.S. Statements that no such cover was promised have stirred the great debate of 1963 in Miami with the U.S. image emerging somewhat darkened among the Cuban exiles. Dr. Manuel Antonio de Varona (left), who was minister of war of the Cuban r

Jan 23

Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy’s Wife Ethel Expecting 8th Child

Jan. 23, 1963 - Mrs. Ethel Kennedy, wife of Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, is expecting her eighth child sometime in July. Her current children are Kerry, 3; Michael, 4; Courtney, 5; David, 6; Polly, 8; Joe, 9; and Kathleen, 11. Mrs. Kennedy was born Ethel Skakel in Chicago to businessman George Skakel and the former Ann Brannack. Her parents were killed in a 1955 plane crash. She and the current Attorney General were married on June 17, 1950, at St. Mary’s Catholic Chur

Jan 21

Robert Kennedy Speaks Out on James Meredith

Jan. 21, 1963 - Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy (left) said today that even if James Meredith (right) left the University of Mississippi, “it would not be a total loss” because his enrollment had demonstrated that Federal law would be enforced. Mr. Kennedy’s comment, made before rectors of the Protestant Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C., followed his statement in an interview with U.S. News and World Report that Mr. Meredith would probably withdraw from the school. The

Jan 10

Attorney General Hits Subversive Group

Jan. 10, 1963 - Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy asked the Subversive Activities Control Board today to order Advance, a New York City group, to register as a Communist-front organization. In a petition presented to the board, Mr. Kennedy charged that Advance, which describes itself as an “organization of progressive youth,” was organized by the Communist Party in February 1960. The board was told that the organization, with headquarters at 80 Clinton Street, New York, has

Dec 25, 2022

Details Emerge on Bay of Pigs Prisoner Swap

Dec. 25, 1962 - General Lucius D. Clay, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, and others raised almost $3 million in cash this week to make possible the completion of the Cuban prisoners’ release. The money was raised in 24 hours ending yesterday afternoon. At 3 p.m., a $2,900,000 check drawn on the Royal Bank of Canada was in the hands of Premier Fidel Castro, who had been promised this sum and demanded its payment as evidence of good faith. Attorney General Kennedy set the ca

Dec 13, 2022

Alabama’s Governor-Elect calls RFK “Sapling Caesar”

Dec. 13, 1962 - Alabama Governor-elect George C. Wallace (pictured) today called Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy a “sapling Caesar” and charged that Mr. Kennedy ordered the FBI to secure tapes of an anti-integration speech the incoming Governor made. Wallace, sometimes called the “fighting little judge,” charged that the Attorney General used the FBI as a “political policeman.” Mr. Wallace said he had learned that an FBI agent named Robert Cooper said he would use a court

Dec 5, 2022

Attorney General Urges Youth to Educate Themselves About U.S.

Dec. 5, 1962 - Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy asserted in New York today that American students planning to travel abroad without adequate knowledge of the U.S. would be doing this country a favor if they “stayed in bed at home.” “It’s simply not enough for us to send abroad thousands of nice, good-looking, eager young people,” Mr. Kennedy told a meeting of the Council on Student Travel at the Biltmore Hotel. “Fourth of July speeches are not enough, either. It is just not

Oct 28, 2022

Attorney General Links Cuban Crisis to Racial Turmoil

Oct. 28, 1962 - Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy said tonight that the tensions between the U.S. and Soviet Union over Cuba were linked to the struggle against racial and religious discrimination at home. The confrontation between this nation and the Soviet Union, Mr. Kennedy asserted, is “in reality a confrontation of all people who believe in human dignity and freedom” against those who believe in the supremacy of the state. Addressing a dinner of the American Jewish Cong

Oct 9, 2022

Robert Kennedy Extols Government’s Handling of Mississippi Crisis

Oct. 9, 1962 - Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy said in a broadcast to foreign countries today that “what the world saw in Mississippi was a democratic nation putting its house in order.” The handling of the case of the Negro student, James H. Meredith, Mr. Kennedy declared “was proof of our intent to live not by rule of men by the rule of law.” Mr. Kennedy recorded a statement on the use of Federal marshals and troops to register Mr. Meredith at the University of Mississip

Sep 30, 2022

RFK Comforts Colleague’s Daughter

Sept. 30, 1962 - Josephine Marshall, the 11-year-old daughter of the Justice Department’s civil rights chief, Burke Marshall (left), fell off a garage roof this morning and broke her arm. Her father had to leave for the office to deal with the Mississippi crisis before the doctor arrived, but there was some compensation later in the day. This afternoon, Josie had a telephone call from the Attorney General of the United States, Robert F. Kennedy. Mr. Kennedy asked Josie how sh

Sep 30, 2022

🚨JFK Calls Mississippi National Guard Into Service

Sept. 30, 1962 - At midnight last night, President Kennedy committed the full weight of the Federal Government to end Mississippi’s defiance of the Union. He called the state’s National Guard into Federal service. He sent U.S. Army troops to Memphis, Tenn., to stand in reserve if more force were needed. And he issued a proclamation calling on the Government and people of Mississippi to abandon what had become the most serious challenge to Federal authority since the Civil War

Sep 29, 2022

RFK Criticizes American Bar Association

Sept. 29, 1962 - Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy expressed disappointment today that the American Bar Association and “the many distinguished lawyers” of Mississippi had not supported the Federal effort to enroll a Negro in the University of Mississippi. Mr. Kennedy said that “courage is the most important attribute of a lawyer.” “One of my great disappointments with the situation in Mississippi,” he said, “has been the absence of any expression of support from the many di

Sep 27, 2022

Tensions Continue to Rise in Mississippi

Sept. 27, 1962 - The Justice Department abandoned tonight a fourth attempt to register James H. Meredith, a Negro, at the University of Mississippi. A Department statement said the Federal marshals accompanying Mr. Meredith had been called back because of the possibility of “major violence and bloodshed.” Hundreds of state policemen, sheriffs, and students had gathered at the university in Oxford to resist any attempt at entry. As tension mounted in the greatest Federal-state

Sep 27, 2022

Alabama Governor Calls JFK “Dictator”

Sept. 27, 1962 - Alabama Governor John Patterson (pictured) told President Kennedy today that if Federal troops or marshals were sent to Mississippi, “your action would establish the Federal Government as a dictatorship of the foulest sort.” Mr. Patterson, a Democrat and one of Mr. Kennedy’s strongest Southern backers in the Presidential campaign of 1960, made this point in a telegram. Mr. Patterson also told the President that he stood firmly with Gov. Ross R. Barnett of Mis

Sep 26, 2022

RFK on Mississippi: Federal Government Will Do “Whatever Is Necessary”

Sept. 26, 1962 - Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy reiterated tonight that the Federal Government would do “whatever is necessary” to carry out court orders in Mississippi. “The situation is serious,” he told reporters. “The question of Federal troops is the same as it has been. That is, we’ll use whatever is necessary to do the job.” Officials made clear yesterday they were prepared to use troops in Mississippi if needed and that this might be soon. The question of what wil

Sep 25, 2022

Federal Troops Likely in Mississippi

Sept. 25, 1962 - The Federal Government is prepared to send troops into Mississippi to enforce Federal court orders to admit a Negro, James H. Meredith, to the state university. In the face of continued defiance by Gov. Ross R. Barnett, officials all but decided tonight that there was no way to uphold Federal law except by military force. They said they expected to reach that fateful decision within a few days. Airborne troops will probably be among those sent. A sizable numb

Sep 8, 2022

RFK Hails Peaceful Desegregation

Sept. 8, 1962 - Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy hailed today the peaceful desegregation of many Southern schools this week. He spoke optimistically about the outlook for the South as a whole. At the same time, he noted that in three states — Alabama, Mississippi, and South Carolina — not a single school or college had been desegregated. “This is the second consecutive school year in which every public school system being desegregated for the first time has made this import

Sep 5, 2022

RFK: Kennedy Name Won’t Help Ted

Sept. 5, 1962 - Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy said today that the Kennedy family name would help his brother Edward in his bid for the Democratic Senate nomination in Massachusetts, but it would not elect him. In an interview on ABC-TV, Mr. Kennedy said of his brother’s primary contest with Massachusetts Attorney General Edward J. McCormack Jr., “Obviously having the name Kennedy is going to help him.” However, he continued, “he’s not going to be elected because his name

Aug 28, 2022

Justice Department Moves on Negro Voting Rights

Aug. 28, 1962 - The Justice Department started a broad legal effort today to open the voting rolls in Mississippi to Negroes. A suit filed in Jackson, Miss., asked the Federal courts to strike down two sections of the Mississippi Constitution and six state laws. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy (pictured celebrating the 52nd anniversary of the Boy Scouts), announcing the suit in Washington, said that all the provisions were used to keep Negroes from voting. Mississippi’s tw

Aug 10, 2022

Attorney General’s Family Goes Camping in Washington’s Olympic National Park

Aug. 10, 1962 - Mrs. Ethel Kennedy fell in a creek, and the park superintendent was thrown from a horse, but otherwise everyone was having a fine time at the Kennedy-Douglas camp in Washington’s Olympic National Park. The vacationing Attorney General and Associate Justice William O. Douglas (right) and their party were “roughing it” at a camp that has been called “The Olympic Hilton.” Justice Douglas, Mr. Kennedy, and their wives and party, including four Kennedy children, we