1960s Timeline

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Feb 21

President Kennedy Says Brother's Trip Highlights Failures of Communism

Feb. 21, 1962 - President Kennedy suggested today that the world trip by his brother Robert had been worthwhile because it had helped make foreign students recognize the failures of communism. Robert F. Kennedy, the Attorney General, arrived in Rome yesterday near the end of a four-week goodwill trip that has included spirited debates with university groups in Japan and Indonesia. President Kennedy said at his news conference today that one of the nation’s most serious, yet s

Feb 21

Robert and Ethel Kennedy Received by Pope John XXIII

Feb. 21, 1962 - Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and his wife, Ethel, were received this morning by Pope John XXIII for a private audience in his private study on the second floor of the Vatican Palace. Mr. Kennedy was received first. Then his wife joined the audience. Both knelt before the Pope as they entered his room and again to receive his blessing at the end of the 25-minute audience. Mr. Kennedy said he had found the Pope in good health and “very kind and cheerful.”

Feb 21

Highlights of President Kennedy's Press Conference

Feb. 21, 1962 - Following are highlights of President Kennedy’s news conference today: Space — He termed “most encouraging” Premier Khrushchev’s suggestions for international cooperation with the U.S. in space exploration. Powers — Francis Gary Powers may go before the press and Congress next week, the President said. The U-2 pilot is “cooperating fully” with the board of inquiry. Berlin — He said the U.S. was maintaining its rights in the air corridors to Berlin, and any Com

Feb 21

First Lady Meets 11-Year-Old Greek Girl Whose Heart Surgery She Arranged

Feb. 21, 1962 - Chrysanthemis Papacosis, an 11-year-old Greek girl, and Mrs. Jacqueline Kennedy, who had the child brought to this country to undergo a delicate heart operation, met in Washington today. They sat together and posed for photographs on the first floor of the White House. The girl was brought to the White House from Walter Reed Hospital, where she underwent surgery on Feb. 1. She was accompanied by her father, Spiridon, a farmer. The child was taken on a conducte

Feb 20

Grace Bumbry, Negro Mezzo-Soprano, Performs at White House

Feb. 20, 1962 — Grace Bumbry, mezzo-soprano, sang at the White House tonight after a state dinner at which she scarcely ate a bite. The 25-year-old opera star had wanted to skip the dinner entirely and concentrate on her after-dinner performance for President and Mrs. Kennedy and their guests. “My business is singing,” she told friends earlier. “If I go to dinner, I’ll eat and not sing very well.” Miss Bumbry finally took the advice of her assistant manager, Michael Sweeley.

Feb 20

Robert F. Kennedy Arrives in Rome

Feb. 20, 1962 - Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and his party received a warm welcome today from a small crowd at the Rome airport this morning when they arrived from Beirut for a private two-day visit. Mr. Kennedy later received a message from Secretary of State Dean Rusk congratulating him on the success of his current trip around the world. Mr. Kennedy then spent several hours revising speeches he is to make Thursday and Friday in Berlin and West Germany. Tomorrow, Mr.

Feb 18

RFK: We Will Win in Vietnam

Feb. 18, 1962 - Robert F. Kennedy said today that U.S. troops would stay in South Vietnam until Communist aggression was defeated. The Attorney General said at a brief news conference at Saigon Airport: “We are going to win in Vietnam. We will remain here until we do win.” Mr. Kennedy did not leave the heavily guarded field during a two-hour stop on his flight from Jakarta to Bangkok. He said he wished he could have stayed in Vietnam longer. Asked whether the U.S. was involve

Feb 17

RFK in Bandung: "American Plane Got Me Here, Russian One Didn't"

Feb. 17, 1962 - Robert F. Kennedy made political capital today of his misadventures in a Soviet-built transport plane. The plane, an Ilyushin-14, could not get through some bad weather on a flight from Bali to Bandung yesterday. It made one emergency landing and then put in at Jakarta, where the Attorney General spent the night. The American-built Convair plane carrying the press had no difficulty reaching Bandung. Early this morning, Mr. Kennedy finally reached Bandung in a

Feb 17

Robert F. Kennedy's Remarks on Mexican War Cause Furor

Feb. 17, 1962 - Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy found himself in the center of a Texas twister last night because of an impromptu 22-word opinion he gave on the war between the United States and Mexico, 1846-48. “Some from Texas might disagree,” the Attorney General told a student in Indonesia on Wednesday, “but I think we were unjustified. I do not think we can be proud of that episode.” As Mr. Kennedy foresaw, “some from Texas” do disagree. Tempers are boiling from San A

Feb 16

Foreign TV Execs Interested in First Lady's White House Tour

Feb. 16, 1962 - Foreign television executives from Communist Hungary to Japan are regarding the TV White House tour with Mrs. Jacqueline Kennedy as a potential hit show, sight unseen. Since the show was televised Wednesday night with an estimated total of 46,550,000 American viewers looking on, CBS has been asked to supply prints to 14 nations interested in buying it for their own stations. When the show was made, Mrs. Kennedy delivered introductions about one minute in lengt

Feb 16

VIDEO: President Kennedy's Rose Garden Remarks to Foreign Educators

Feb. 16, 1962 - Here is video of President Kennedy’s remarks in the Rose Garden to a group of visiting foreign educators. The 325 educators from 62 foreign countries and territories are completing a 6-month stay in the U.S. under the educational program of the Department of State. #JFK #jfkfiles #1960s #jfkennedy #jfkmemorial #jfklibrary #jfkpresident #jfkwashere #jfkquote #history #historylover #historybuff #historychannel #HistoryLesson #podcast #HistoryMuseum #historylov

Feb 16

Governor Rockefeller Hits Kennedy on Civil Rights

Feb. 16, 1962 - New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller, speaking at a Lincoln Day fund-raising dinner held by the Niagara County Republican organization, denounced President Kennedy last night for “a record of broken promises” on civil rights. In his sharpest indictment of the Administration’s policy, he charged the President and Democratic Congress with failure to perform, except in token cases, on 1960 campaign pledges on civil rights. “Certainly this record must constitute o

Feb 15

First Lady's White House Tour Seen by 46,550,000

Feb. 15, 1962 - Mrs. Kennedy’s televised tour of the White House Wednesday night was watched by 46,550,000 persons, according to survey results issued today by the American Research Bureau. The program was watched by three of every four persons who viewed television between 10 and 11 p.m. ABC, which earlier had declined to join the two other networks in televising Mrs. Kennedy’s program, reversed its position today. James C. Hagerty, vice president of news, said the tape-reco

Feb 15

Nixon Supports President Kennedy on Vietnam Build-Up

Feb. 15, 1962 - Former Vice President Nixon opposed today criticism of the buildup by the U.S. of military forces in South Vietnam to bar a Communist take-over. Mr. Nixon, engaged in a campaign for the Republican nomination for Governor of California, said: “I don’t agree at all with any partisan or other criticism of the U.S. build-up in Vietnam. My only question is whether it may be too little, too late. It is essential that the U.S. commit all the resources of which it is

Feb 14

First Lady Excels as White House Tour Guide

Feb. 14, 1962 - Millions of television viewers toured the White House this evening with Mrs. Jacqueline Kennedy leading the way. The President’s wife explained the restoration she has made in the interior of the Executive Mansion. In the hour-long program, recorded on tape last month, Mrs. Kennedy, a poised TV narrator, was a historian savoring the small facts and human story behind the evolution of White House décor. Wearing a wool suit of simple line and three strings of pe

Feb 14

TV: First Lady's White House Tour

Feb. 14, 1962 - First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy gives an exclusive televised tour of the White House, hosted by CBS's Charles Collingwood. #FLOTUS #JFK #jfkfiles #1960s #jfkennedy #jfkmemorial #jfklibrary #jfkpresident #jfkwashere #jfkquote #history #historylover #historybuff #historychannel #HistoryLesson #podcast #HistoryMuseum #historylovers #politics #coldwar

Feb 14

Kennedy: Powers a "Free Agent" after Interrogation

Feb. 14, 1962 - Francis Gary Powers can testify before Congressional committees and talk with newsmen after he completes “important interviews” with the Government, President Kennedy said today. Mr. Powers, the U.S. spy who was exchanged last week in Berlin for Col. Rudolf I. Abel, a Soviet spy, will be a “free agent” after his interrogation, the President said at his news conference. Mr. Kennedy indicated one reservation. After the Government completed its interviewing of Mr

Feb 14

Main Points of President Kennedy's Press Conference

Feb. 14, 1962 - Following are main points of President Kennedy’s news conference today: Summit — He said he would attend a heads-of-government meeting with Soviet Premier Khrushchev on disarmament if negotiations on a lower level showed some progress toward an effective agreement. Powers — Francis Gary Powers, the U-2 pilot, is “cooperating voluntarily” with questioning by Government officials and would be permitted to testify before Congressional committees after the “import

Feb 12

Senator Margaret Chase Smith Calls GOP "Fainthearted" About Opposing JFK in '64

Feb. 12, 1962 - Maine Senator Margaret Chase Smith (pictured) suggested today that leading Republican Presidential aspirants were seeking to avoid nomination in 1964 because they were afraid to run against President Kennedy. In an indictment of what she called GOP “faintheartedness,” the only woman Republican Senator said her party needed a man “who is not afraid to lose” to President Kennedy in 1964. Without using names, Mrs. Smith made it clear that she thought former Vice

Feb 12

President Kennedy Meets with Commission on the Status of Women

Feb. 12, 1962 - President Kennedy said today that it was essential that women workers be assured of pay that reflected the services they rendered. He spoke briefly to the first meeting of his Commission on the Status of Women. The group met at the White House under the chairmanship of Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt. The President noted that about 1/3 of the U.S. working force consisted of women who also have a primary obligation to their families and their homes. “Their work makes it