1960s Timeline

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. 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. 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, 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, 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. 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

Dec. 22, 1961 - President Kennedy and Prime Minister Macmillan agreed today to seek renewed diplomatic contacts with the Soviet Union on the question of Berlin. They also agreed that adequate preparations should be made for a resumption of nuclear tests in the atmosphere. The agreements were reported following the two-day meeting in Bermuda between the American and British leaders. The two leaders decided that the renewal of efforts on the Berlin situation would be made by th

Dec. 22, 1961 - Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy will make a round-the-world tour with his wife beginning in early February. The President’s brother will visit Tokyo and several other cities in Japan during a 6-day stay from Feb. 4 to 10. Thereafter, he will journey to Jakarta, capital of Indonesia; make a brief stop in Teheran, capital of Iran; and continue on to Rome, Berlin, and Bonn. The Attorney General, according to informed sources, has felt for some time that since

Dec. 21, 1961 - Doctors held out slightly more hope today for Joseph P. Kennedy (pictured with the President in March), although his condition remained serious. The President’s father, who is unable to speak or to take food by mouth, is being fed intravenously. A thrombosis, or cerebral occlusion, blocking the flow of blood, occurred in the middle part of the brain. Because of the location of the clot, relief by surgery was ruled out and physicians hope to thin it out by medi

Dec. 21, 1961 - President Kennedy and Prime Minister Macmillan opened a two-day meeting in Bermuda today with discussions of Soviet progress in nuclear weapons, the Berlin question, and the crisis in the Congo. One of the principal conclusions reached by both sides was that the Soviet Union had made progress in the development of the anti-missile missile. While it is believed that in order to make similar progress, the U.S. and Britain would have to conduct atmospheric tests

Dec. 20, 1961 - Joseph P. Kennedy remained in a serious condition tonight as a result of a stroke yesterday. President Kennedy (pictured outside the St. Mary’s Hospital) made three visits to his father’s bedside the hospital in Palm Beach today. An afternoon announcement by Pierre Salinger, White House press secretary, said: “While Ambassador Kennedy’s condition remains serious, the physicians have advised the President that they feel his father’s condition is such it is poss

Dec. 19, 1961 - Joseph P. Kennedy, 73-year-old father of the President, suffered a stroke at his home in Palm Beach, Fla. today. President Kennedy flew there from Washington and went immediately to St. Mary’s Hospital (pictured), where the elder Mr. Kennedy, the former Ambassador to Britain, was undergoing emergency treatment. Medical sources said there had been some paralysis but that they would not know how serious the condition of the President’s father was until diagnosti

Dec. 18, 1961 - Here is a film from the U.S. Information Service about President Kennedy’s visits to Venezuela and Colombia. #JFK #jfkfiles #jfkassassination #jfkjr #jfkennedy #jfkmemorial #jfklibrary #jfkpresident #jfkwashere #jfkquote #history #HistoryNerd #historyinpictures #historylover #historybuff #HistoryInTheMaking #historychannel #HistoryLesson #historygeek #historymemes #podcast #HistoryMuseum #historylovers #politics #coldwar

Dec. 17, 1961 - The First Ladies of the United States and Colombia visited some of the 200 children in the Lorencita Villegas de Santos Children’s Hospital today. Mrs. Kennedy was accompanied on her tour of the hospital by Señora Berta de Lieras Camargo, wife of President Alberto Lleras Camargo of Colombia. Mrs. Kennedy sat for a moment on the bed of Oliva Canas, a 5-year-old girl recovering from a kidney ailment. The little girl looked at Mrs. Kennedy with wide-open eyes but

Dec. 17, 1961 - A crowd of 500,000, nearly half the population of Bogotá, turned out today to give a rousing welcome to President and Mrs. Kennedy. Pierre Salinger, White House press secretary, said that the Bogotá turnout was larger than any reception for the President anywhere. In a speech, President Kennedy said that democracy had an “unparalleled power” to reshape societies. Democracy can meet “new needs without violence, without repression, without a discipline which des

Dec. 17, 1961 - President Kennedy received a cheering send-off from thousands of Venezuelans this morning as he ended his 24-hour visit. Before his departure for Bogotá, Colombia, he said that his visit to Venezuela had “heartened our friends and confounded our enemies.” “We receive as friends those who are our friends,” President Romulo Betancourt said in bidding President and Mrs. Kennedy farewell. Before he left, President Kennedy placed a wreath at the tomb of Simón Bolív

Dec. 16, 1961 - Here is video of President Kennedy’s remarks at the La Morita Resettlement Project ceremony in Venezuela. #JFK #jfkfiles #jfkassassination #jfkjr #jfkennedy #jfkmemorial #jfklibrary #jfkpresident #jfkwashere #jfkquote #history #HistoryNerd #historyinpictures #historylover #historybuff #HistoryInTheMaking #historychannel #HistoryLesson #historygeek #historymemes #podcast #HistoryMuseum #historylovers #politics #coldwar

Dec. 16, 1961 - President Kennedy’s visit in Venezuela was reported today by Havana radio in details almost totally at odds with the news coming directly out of Caracas. The Cuban broadcast said President Kennedy was received “in the midst of the most profound rebuke ever to be manifested by the people of Venezuela.” The broadcast stated that two bombs went off in Caracas’ San Bernardino suburb shortly after President Kennedy arrived in the Venezuelan capital. It said also th

Dec. 16, 1961 - President Kennedy arrived in Caracas, Venezuela today and received a cheering welcome. He issued a call for the “elimination of all tyranny” from South America. Mr. Kennedy drove into Caracas from Maiquita Airport after his arrival from San Juan, Puerto Rico, along roads lined with steel-helmeted soldiers whose bayoneted rifles were pointed at the welcoming crowd. The strict security measures were taken by the Venezuelan Government to avoid the possibility of

Dec. 15, 1961 - President Kennedy received an enthusiastic welcome from hundreds of thousands in San Juan, Puerto Rico, today as he started his weekend journey to Latin America. Addressing Gov. Luis Muñoz Marin in an airport speech, the President said that the achievement of Puerto Rico in building a better life for its people “has given us the inspiration to feel that we can carry on a great cooperative effort throughout the entire hemisphere.” President Kennedy’s trip will