1960s Timeline

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Mar 31

Steel Industry and Union Announce New Contract, President Calls Terms "Noninflationary"

Mar. 31, 1962 - The steel industry and the United Steelworkers of America announced agreement today on new contract terms. President Kennedy said the terms were “obviously noninflationary and should provide a solid base for continued price stability.” The accord settles the nation’s major collective bargaining problem of the year. It will provide a pattern for settlements covering thousands of workers in steel fabricating, aluminum making, and can-manufacturing plants. Presid

Mar 30

Edward M. Kennedy Admits Cheating at Harvard in 1951, Was Asked To Leave

Mar. 30, 1962 - Edward M. Kennedy, a candidate for a Democratic Senate nomination, admitted today that he had withdrawn from Harvard College as a freshman in 1951 at the college’s request. In a statement, Mr. Kennedy said that the reason was that he had “arranged” to have a classmate take an examination in his stead in a Spanish course. Rumors that the President’s brother had been asked to leave Harvard under a cloud had been gathering since before the formal announcement of

Mar 30

President Nominates Byron White to Supreme Court

Mar. 30, 1962 - President Kennedy today nominated Byron R. White (left), the Deputy Attorney General, to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. Mr. White is 44, an unusually young age for a Supreme Court appointee. He comes from Denver, where he was in private law practice for 13 years before joining the Kennedy Administration in January 1961. He has known the President since they met in England in 1939. They were together for a time during World War II, when Mr. White

Mar 29

First Lady Comes Home

Mar. 29, 1962 - Mrs. Jacqueline Kennedy arrived home tonight from her journey abroad. The President was at National Airport to meet her when the Caroline, the family’s plane, landed at 7:28 p.m. As soon as the steps of the aircraft were lowered, the President entered the plane and greeted her. A few minutes later, they descended the steps together and Mrs. Kennedy shook hands with the Indian Ambassador, B.K. Nehru, and his wife and with the Pakistani Ambassador, Aziz Ahmed, a

Mar 29

Highlights of President Kennedy's Press Conference

Mar. 29, 1962 - Following are the main points of President Kennedy’s press conference today: Supreme Court — He announced the retirement of Associate Justice Charles Evans Whittaker because of illness. Tests — He said efforts to achieve a nuclear test ban agreement seemed to have reached a “real impasse” because of Soviet rejection of inspection. China — He discouraged the idea that the U.S. would support Chiang Kai-shek in an attempt to put a force on Chinese mainland. #JFK

Mar 29

President Kennedy Will Be "Glad To Debate" in 1964

Mar. 29, 1962 - President Kennedy apparently disposed today of any doubts that he planned to seek a second term in 1964. At the President’s news conference, a reporter pointed out that Mr. Kennedy’s Republican opponent of 1960, former Vice President Richard M. Nixon, had indicated in his book, “Six Crises,” that Mr. Nixon believed he had won three of their four television debates. The President was asked whether he thought future debates were advisable. “I would think that it

Mar 29

Supreme Court Justice Whittaker Retires on Doctors' Advice

Mar. 29, 1962 - Justice Charles Evans Whittaker (pictured) retired from the Supreme Court today on his doctors’ advice. He said in a statement that the “great volume and continuous stresses of the court’s work” had brought him to the “point of physical exhaustion.” He said his doctors had warned him that staying on the court would jeopardize his health. Justice Whittaker, who was appointed to the Supreme Court by President Eisenhower in 1957, had been missing from the bench f

Mar 28

Mrs. Kennedy Visits Buckingham Palace

Mar. 28, 1962 - Mrs. Jacqueline Kennedy was greeted with cheers and wolf whistles today when she drove to Buckingham Palace for lunch with Queen Elizabeth II. “I had a wonderful English lunch,” Mrs. Kennedy said later. She said she and the Queen had talked “mostly about India,” which the First Lady visited this month and the Queen last year. A crowd around the home of Mrs. Kennedy’s sister, Princess Lee Radziwill, cheered when President Kennedy’s wife emerged, wearing a red w

Mar 27

Democrats Plan Birthday Salute to President Kennedy at Madison Square Garden

Mar. 27, 1962 - Democrats are planning a May 19 New York Birthday Salute to the President that is expected to wipe out the last $500,000 of the party’s 1960 national campaign deficit of more than $2.5 million. The tribute to President Kennedy, to be held at Madison Square Garden, is billed as a million-dollar evening of entertainment and fun. The Democratic New York state organization will also share in the proceeds from the party, at which leading stage, screen, and televisi

Mar 26

Mrs. Kennedy Arrives in London

Mar. 26, 1962 - Mrs. Jacqueline Kennedy arrived in London by air tonight for a three-day private visit. She was accompanied by her sister, Princess Lee Radziwill. She was greeted by Lord Nugent, representing Queen Elizabeth II; the U.S. Ambassador, David K.E. Bruce, and Mrs. Bruce; and the First Lady’s brother-in-law, Prince Radziwill, with whom she will stay in London. Prince Radziwill is a naturalized British subject who uses his Polish title, although it is not recognized

Mar 26

RNC Criticizes President Kennedy's Request for More Secret Service

Mar. 26, 1962 - The Republican National Committee criticized today a Secret Service request for 58 more agents to protect President Kennedy than were needed for President Eisenhower. In its publication, “Battle Line,” the committee asked if this request had anything to do with Mr. Kennedy’s “penchant for commuting from Hyannis Port, Palm Beach, Newport, and Middleburg.” It said: “In addition, expeditions such as Mrs. Kennedy’s safari into India required, in the words of Treas

Mar 26

VIDEO: President Kennedy Receives Book from Robert Frost

Mar. 26, 1962 - Here is video of President Kennedy receiving a book of new poems today from poet Robert Frost. Mr. Frost turned 88 today. #poetry #JFK #jfkfiles #1960s #jfkennedy #jfkmemorial #jfklibrary #jfkpresident #jfkquote #history #historylover #historybuff #historychannel #HistoryLesson #podcast #HistoryMuseum #historylovers #politics #coldwar

Mar 25

President Attends Mass in Palm Desert, California

Mar. 25, 1962 - A little old lady in black almost asked President Kennedy to move over at church this morning in Palm Desert, Calif. The President (pictured after mass outside the church) had already taken his seat at the Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church when an unidentified woman paused in the aisle by his pew. She was looking for a seat and obviously was about to ask Mr. Kennedy to make room. Before she could do so, the Secret Service moved in. The President’s guards try

Mar 25

Mrs. Kennedy Rides a Camel in Pakistan

Mar. 25, 1962 - After riding an elephant last week near Jaipur, India, Mrs. Jacqueline Kennedy took a ride today on a camel led by Bashir Ahmed, the Pakistani who toured the U.S. last fall as the guest of Vice President Johnson. The five-year-old camel and his beaming driver were introduced to the First Lady in the garden of the residence of President Mohammad Ayub Khan in Karachi. This was one of the last events in Mrs. Kennedy’s two-week tour of India and Pakistan. She is s

Mar 24

First Lady and Princess Radziwill Order Karakul Hats

Mar. 24, 1962 - Princess Lee Radziwill said today that she and her sister, Mrs. Jacqueline Kennedy, had ordered karakul hats like the one (pictured) worn by Mrs. Kennedy today. Mrs. Kennedy was wearing a black karakul hat, called an astrakhan, given her by President Mohammed Ayub Khan. The Princess is accompanying her sister on the trip to India and Pakistan. Princess Radziwill called the hats “so fabulous and beautiful they may well become the fashion.” A merchant said Mrs.

Mar 24

Nixon Calls Kennedys "Carpetbaggers"

Mar. 24, 1962 - While campaigning for Governor of California in the southern part of the state yesterday, former Vice President Richard M. Nixon was asked how he liked having the President and his brother, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, in the state. Attorney General Kennedy was in the state to address an anti-crime convention in Los Angeles. “We welcome them,” Mr. Nixon said. “In November, we are going to show these carpetbaggers a thing or two.” Mr. Salinger replied at

Mar 24

President Kennedy Meets with General Eisenhower in Palm Desert

Mar. 24, 1962 - President Kennedy and General Dwight D. Eisenhower met in Palm Desert, Calif., today for a 51-minute chat that ended with a military salute by the General. “It was a general discussion of the situation around the world,” Pierre Salinger, White House press secretary, said later. “The President brought him up to date on a number of subjects, basically international,” he said. The two men talked at former President Eisenhower’s cottage at the El Dorado Country Cl

Mar 24

Mrs. Kennedy Explores Pakistan, Receives Two Sheep

Mar. 24, 1962 - Two live sheep were presented to Mrs. Jacqueline Kennedy today by tribal chieftains at the foot of the historic Khyber Pass in Pakistan. In the custom of the Pakistani Northwest Frontier the wife of President Kennedy touched the heads of the sheep with her right hand. This indicated that she had accepted the animals, which were draped in silks and festooned with Pakistani and U.S. flags. The chieftains also gave her a dagger in a silver sheath and a leather sa

Mar 23

VIDEO: President Kennedy's Berkeley Address

Mar. 23, 1962 - Here is video of President Kennedy’s address today at Memorial Stadium at the University of California at Berkeley. #JFK #jfkfiles #1960s #jfkennedy #jfkmemorial #jfklibrary #jfkpresident #jfkwashere #jfkquote #history #historylover #historybuff #historychannel #HistoryLesson #podcast #HistoryMuseum #historylovers #politics #coldwar

Mar 23

300 Demonstrators Picket Kennedy at Berkeley

Mar. 23, 1962 - Critics and defenders of Administration policies stuck to plans to picket President Kennedy’s visit to the University of California at Berkeley today. About 200 youths out of the total Berkeley student body of 22,000 sat silent, some reading newspapers, in front of a big poster lettered: “Mr. President: for humanity’s sake, we oppose all nuclear testing.” Perhaps 300 critics of the Administration, carrying nearly 100 signs, marched up the hill to Memorial Stad