1960s Timeline

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Nov 24, 2021

CBS Correspondent Investigates Possible Remains of Earhart, Noonan

Nov. 24, 1961 - Bone fragments and teeth exhumed from shallow graves on Saipan Island arrived in San Francisco by plane today for scientific examination to determine if they may be the remains of Amelia Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan (pictured). The fragments were taken from two graves by a radio newsman, Fred Goerner, a correspondent for CBS. He has been interested in the disappearance of the woman flier and her navigator during their attempt to fly around the world

Nov 22, 2021

Former Vice President Garner Turns 93

Nov. 22, 1961 - Former Vice President John Nance Garner greeted old friends warmly as he marked his 93rd birthday quietly today. He greeted well-wishers in his combination living room-library with its two TV sets. He wore the green eye shade that has become a trademark of his later years. Mr. Garner was Vice President during the first two terms of Franklin D. Roosevelt. He retired from public life after breaking with Mr. Roosevelt over the third-term issue and other matters.

Nov 22, 2021

President Kennedy Home for Thanksgiving

Nov. 22, 1961 - President Kennedy came home today to celebrate a Thanksgiving 340 years and 40 miles removed from the original. The President’s mother will set the table in the “big house” tomorrow for 28 members of the family spanning 3 generations. Thirteen adults and fifteen children, not counting house guests, will be served New England roast turkey with cranberry sauce. The big house is the home of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph P. Kennedy, the President’s parents. #JFK #jfkfiles #

Nov 21, 2021

Video: President Kennedy's Remarks to National Conference of Christians and Jews

Nov. 21, 1961 - Here is video of President Kennedy’s remarks in the Rose Garden today to members of the National Conference of Christians and Jews: #JFK #jfkfiles #jfkassassination #jfkjr #jfkennedy #jfkmemorial #jfklibrary #jfkpresident #jfkwashere #jfkquote #history #HistoryNerd #historyinpictures #historylover #historybuff #HistoryInTheMaking #historychannel #HistoryLesson #historygeek #historymemes #podcast #HistoryMuseum #historylovers #politics

Nov 20, 2021

White House Releases JFK Jr.'s Official Portrait

Nov. 20, 1961 - John Fitzgerald Kennedy Jr. flashes a happy smile in official birthday pictures released today by the White House. He will celebrate his first birthday Saturday, presumably at Hyannis Port, Mass., where the Kennedys plan to spend Thanksgiving weekend. John Jr. returned to the White House this afternoon with his mother and his sister, Caroline, who will be 4 Monday. With today’s pictures, the White House also released statistics on John Jr. He is healthy, weigh

Nov 19, 2021

President Kennedy Talks Extremism in Los Angeles

Nov. 19, 1961 - President Kennedy spoke out last night against the right-wing John Birch Society and the so-called Minutemen in a speech at a Democratic party dinner in Los Angeles. The President mentioned neither group by name but left no doubt whom he meant. “There have always been those fringes of our society who have sought to escape their own responsibility by finding a simple solution, an appealing slogan, or a convenient scapegoat,” Mr. Kennedy said. “They find treason

Nov 18, 2021

Speaker Rayburn is Buried in Texas

Nov. 18, 1961 - House Speaker Sam Rayburn was buried today in the rich Texas earth that nurtured him. Funeral services were held in the First Baptist Church he had helped to build in Bonham, Tex. President Kennedy and former Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and Harry S. Truman were in the front row with the Speaker’s long-time friend, Vice President Johnson. Mr. Rayburn was Speaker of the House longer than any other man in history. “In the liberties and freedoms of our country

Nov 18, 2021

President Kennedy Honors Sen. Hayden in Arizona

Nov. 18, 1961 - President Kennedy declared last night that the nation should regard with pride the “heavy burden” of preserving freedom in the world. “Only the United States and our power and strength and commitments permit dozens of other countries scattered all over the globe to maintain their freedom,” the President said. “Other countries look to their own interests,” he said. “Only the United States bears this kind of burden.” Mr. Kennedy spoke to about 1,200 Arizonans wh

Nov 16, 2021

President Kennedy Honors Senator Magnuson

Nov. 16 - After his speech at the University of Washington, President Kennedy paid high tribute to Senator Warren G. Magnuson (left), Washington’s Democratic senior Senator. Senator Magnuson is celebrating his 25th year in Congress and also is seeking re-election. At a dinner in honor of Mr. Magnuson, the President spoke of the development of the Northwest area since the Senator’s first election to Congress in 1936. “Those who bet on the United States — those who were bulls a

Nov 16, 2021

Sen. Carl Hayden Next in Line for Presidency after Johnson

Nov. 16, 1961 - The death of Speaker Sam Rayburn places Senator Carl Hayden (right), Democrat of Arizona, behind Vice President Johnson in the line of succession to the Presidency. Had the House been in session, it would have elected a new Speaker who would hold second rank. Congress does not meet until Jan. 10, and Mr. Hayden holds the place until then. The election of a Speaker will be one of the first items of business for the House. Mr. Hayden, 84, temporarily moves up in

Nov 16, 2021

Vice President Johnson's Tribute to Sam Rayburn

Nov. 16, 1961 - Here is Vice President Johnson’s statement on the passing of his friend and colleague of long standing, Speaker Sam Rayburn (pictured right at last year’s Democratic National Convention): “The capital is a lonely place without him. The good people of the world have lost a companion and an ally. He was always there when he was needed. His voice and his judgment were heard and respected. In the end, it all added up to one thing: He did what was right.” #JFK #jfk

Nov 16, 2021

President Speaks at University of Washington

Nov. 16 - President Kennedy declared today that it was “a test of our national maturity” to accept the prospect that negotiations on Berlin and other world problems might not lead to either victory or defeat. Such negotiations, he said, “are likely to be successful only if both sides reach an agreement which both regard as preferable to the status quo, an agreement in which each side can consider that its own situation has been improved.” On the other hand, he asserted, this

Nov 16, 2021

President Kennedy's Tribute to Sam Rayburn

Nov. 16, 1961 - Following is President Kennedy’s expression of tribute and statement of regret at the death today of Sam Rayburn (left), Speaker of the House of Representatives: “Mr. Kennedy and I join the nation in mourning the death of Speaker Rayburn. His public service stretched from the Administration of President Woodrow Wilson to the present day, but it was the quality of that service more than its length that was so distinctive. He had an instinctive understanding of

Nov 16, 2021

Speaker Sam Rayburn Dead at 79

Nov. 16, 1961 - House Speaker Sam Rayburn died of cancer in his sleep today. He was 79 years old. President Kennedy led the nation — Republicans and Democrats alik — in mourning Mr. Rayburn as a great American. Mr. Kennedy and former President Harry S. Truman will lead mourners at the funeral Saturday in Bonham, Tex. Mr. Rayburn, who served longer as Representative and Speaker than any other man in history, will lie in state tomorrow at the Sam Rayburn Library for 24 hours wh

Nov 14, 2021

President Welcomes Two Special Girls to White House

Nov. 14, 1961 - President Kennedy told two little White House visitors today that they were better behaved than his own children. Sheila McGrath, 7 years old, is mentally disabled, while Kammy McGrath, 5 years old, is not. The President smiled as he took Sheila by the hand and led her toward a hobby horse in one corner of the Cabinet room. “You want to come over with me?” he asked gently. “Attagirl.” Sheila got on the hobby horse and rocked briefly. Then he reached into the p

Nov 13, 2021

President Kennedy Receives Gift of Torah

Nov. 13, 1961 - President Kennedy received the gift of a Sacred Torah from the Union of American Hebrew Congregations in the Rose Garden of the White House today. Rabbi Maurice N. Eisendrath, who presented the 18th-century scroll to the President, said that the Torah was a “symbol of man’s divinely inspired search for a life of freedom and justice. It contains, as you well know, those teachings which undergird this nation under God.” Turning to Rabbi Eisendrath, the President

Nov 11, 2021

Rayburn's Doctor Issues Dire Bulletin

Nov. 11, 1961 - Speaker Sam Rayburn’s physician, Dr. Joe Risser (pictured), issued a bulletin this afternoon on the condition of his 79-year-old patient, who has cancer. It said: “Mr. Sam is critical now. The heart is weakening. The infrequent lucid moments are shorter. His breathing is quite labored. No pain is experienced. The prognosis is hours to days.” Mr. Rayburn was visited earlier in the day by Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson. After leaving Risser Hospital, an emotio

Nov 11, 2021

Nixon Predicts No War with Soviets

Nov. 14, 1961 - Richard M. Nixon (pictured with Premier Nikita Khrushchev in 1959) predicted today that the Soviet people’s “obsession for peace” and Premier Khrushchev’s intelligence would prevent war. Mr. Nixon spoke at a “Republican Spectacular” held in Indiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum. “Khrushchev will not start a war for many reasons,” Mr. Nixon said. “Despite his liquor drinking, he is always the master of his own temper. Unlike Hitler, the Russian leader is a cold, t

Nov 11, 2021

VIDEO: President Kennedy's Remarks on Veterans Day

Nov. 11, 1961 - Here is video of President Kennedy’s remarks today at the Veterans Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery. WATCH: #JFK #jfkfiles #jfkassassination #jfkjr #jfkinternationalairport #jfkennedy #jfkmemorial #jfklibrary #jfkpresident #jfkwashere #jfkquote #history #HistoryNerd #historyinpictures #historylover #historybuff #HistoryInTheMaking #historychannel #HistoryLesson #historygeek #historymemes #podcast #HistoryMuseum #historylovers

Nov 11, 2021

President Kennedy Speaks on Veterans Day

Nov. 11, 1961 - President Kennedy made a Veterans Day plea today for peace, but he assured the world that this country was prepared to fight again for freedom. The President placed a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Ceremony. Coatless and hatless, he stood in an attitude of prayer as a bugler blew taps that echoed across the Potomac Valley. Then, as the solemn military rites continued in the white marble amphitheatre, surrounded by the graves of Americ