1960s Timeline

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Nov 21, 2021

Governor Rockefeller's Son Michael Still Missing, Feared Dead

Nov. 21, 1961 - Missionaries joined rescue parties combing the jungle marshes of the southwestern New Guinea coast today in hope that Michael Rockefeller (pictured), son of the New York Governor, would be found alive. The young man was last seen by a Dutch companion, Dr. R.W. Wassink, Sunday as he set out to swim 15 miles to shore from their capsized native boat. Dr. Wassink’s rescuers quoted him as saying that young Rockefeller had left the native boat “against my strong adv

Nov 20, 2021

"Capeman" Killer Denied Hearing

Nov. 20, 1961 - The Supreme Court today denied a hearing to Salvatore Agron (left), a Puerto Rican boy facing execution in New York for the slaying of two 16-year-old boys in a darkened playground on Manhattan’s West Side. Agron stabbed the two boys to death on Aug. 30, 1959. His counsel said he was then one day past his 16th birthday. Agron was known as the Cape Man after the murder because he wore a red-lined nurse’s cape during the stabbings. Counsel for the boy said the s

Nov 20, 2021

Search Goes On for Missing Rockefeller

Nov. 20, 1961 - The search for Michael Rockefeller was concentrated on the swampy southwest coast of New Guinea today after a rescued companion had reported last seeing him swimming from their capsized raft toward shore. The 23-year-old son of the New York Governor was reported swimming against “powerful currents” through shark-infested waters, buoyed only by two empty gasoline cans. Young Rockefeller’s companion, Dr. R.W. Wassink, 34, a Dutch ethnologist, was picked up safe

Nov 20, 2021

Rescued Girl Tells of Mass Killings on Yacht

Nov. 20, 1961 - An 11-year-old girl (pictured), the only survivor of the sailboat Bluebelle, has indicated that the other passengers were murdered by the captain. Terry Jo Duperrault, who was rescued from a raft after three and a half days under a blazing sun, told investigators that Capt. Julian Harvey had abandoned her on the deck of the sinking ship. The girl said that she had seen the bodies of her mother and brother on the floor of the main cabin and “blood all over” the

Nov 19, 2021

Governor Rockefeller's Son Michael Missing in New Guinea

Nov. 19, 1961 - Michael Rockefeller (pictured), the 23-year-old youngest son of New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller, was reported missing and possibly adrift at sea today off primitive Dutch New Guinea. The Governor left New York by air early today on the first leg of a 10,000-mile trip to the remote island area north of Australia. “I want to go out there simply to be there if they do find him,” said Mr. Rockefeller, who appeared pale and haggard. Young Rockefeller first wen

Nov 17, 2021

Captain of Sunken Vessel "Bluebelle" a Suicide

Nov. 17, 1961 - A sailing-yacht captain (pictured) who survived a sinking that apparently claimed 5 lives commited suicide today, 24 hours after the only other known survivor was found. The body of Julian Harvey, 45-year-old skipper of the 60-foot sailboat Bluebelle, was found in a room of a Miami motel where he had registered under a false name. He had slit his arms, wrists, and throat with a razor. A suicide note said: “I am tired, nervous and can’t take it any longer.” Mr.

Nov 16, 2021

Thirteen Italian Airmen Butchered in Congo

Nov. 16, 1961 - Thirteen captured Italian airmen attached to the U.N. force have been murdered by Congolese soldiers. The Italians had flown into Kindu, Kivu Province, with two transport planes carrying scout cars for a Malayan contingent of the U.N. force. They were seized and beaten there by drunken Congolese soldiers Saturday before being shot to death. Their bodies were dismembered with machetes by a crowd of onlookers and thrown into the Lualaba River. The Italians were

Nov 16, 2021

Girl, Near Death, Rescued after Days in Life Raft

Nov. 16, 1961 - A girl who survived the sinking of a yacht in a Bahaman squall Sunday was found on a raft in the Atlantic today. She was in a deep sleep and near death. The child was 11-year-old Terry Jo Duperrault (pictured) of Green Bay, Wis. She was picked up by a passing merchant vessel which chanced upon the small white raft in choppy waters. Terry Jo was cast into the sea with 6 other persons, including her parents and a brother and sister, when the 60-foot sailboat, th

Sep 11, 2021

Murder Conviction of 15-year-old Georgia Negro Under Investigation

Sept. 11, 1961 - The Georgia Pardon and Parole Board promised today to investigate the murder conviction of a 15-year-old Negro whose death sentence touched off a wave of protests at the urging of Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt. The boy, Preston Cobb Jr. (pictured), would become the youngest person executed in modern Georgia history if his sentence is carried out on Sept. 22. He was convicted of murdering a 70-year-old white man, Frank Dumas, after an argument over fishing in Dumas's

Sep 6, 2021

British Explorer Slain by Native Tribesmen in Brazil

Sept. 6, 1961 - Richard Mason, 30-year-old British explorer and member of the Royal Geographic Society, was slain by native tribesmen while he was on an expedition in central Brazil, it was reported today. Mr. Mason, two other British explorers, and three Brazilian members of the expedition had been surveying an area around the Cachimbo range since the middle of May. Mr. A few days ago, Mr. Mason had gone off by himself in search of food and supplies when an unknown indigenou

Aug 28, 2021

President Kennedy Nearly Assassinated Last December

Aug. 28, 1961 - President Kennedy may have been saved from assassination last December because Mrs. Kennedy unexpectedly appeared with their two children to bid him goodbye on his way to mass. This is reported by U.E. Baughman, retiring chief of the Secret Service, in an article in Look Magazine. Mr. Baughman writes that Richard Pavlick, a retired postal clerk, parked his car, loaded with seven sticks of dynamite, near the house in Palm Beach, Fla., where Mr. Kennedy, then Pr

Aug 22, 2021

Actor and Musician 'Spade' CooleyGets Life Sentence for Murdering Wife

Aug. 22, 1961 - Donnell Cooley (right), the musician and actor better known as Spade Cooley, was spared the gas chamber and sentenced to life imprisonment for the first-degree murder of his wife, Ella May, 37. Judge William L. Bradshaw set the penalty for the 50-year-old "King of Western Swing" after the latter had withdrawn an insanity plea. On April 26, Mr. Cooley was indicted for the murder of his wife on April 3 at the couple's home near Willow Springs, California. Mr. Co

Jul 19, 2021

"Capeman" Killer Agron Gets Stay of Execution

July 19, 1961 - A 90-day stay of the electrocution of Salvador Agron, which had been scheduled for the week of Aug. 7, was granted today by Judge Adrian P. Burke of the New York State Court of Appeals. The 17-year-old youth - nicknamed "Dracula" and "Capeman" because of a cape he wore - had been convicted of two teenagers in a West Side playground Aug. 30, 1959. Agron, born in Puerto Rico, mistook both teenagers for members of a gang called the Norsemen who were supposed to s

Jul 18, 2021

Ex-Con Claims to have Caused 1937 School Explosion that Killed 293 in Texas

July 18, 1961 - A lie detector test proved inconclusive today on an ex-convict who said he had unintentionally caused a 1937 Texas school explosion (pictured) that killed 293 students and teachers. The ex-convict is William E. Benson, 41 years old. Oklahoma City police arrested him last night for questioning about a $38 robbery. He told them he had been responsible for the New London, Tex., high school disaster of March 18, 1937. His 14-year-old sister had been killed in the

Jul 12, 2021

"Capeman" Execution Date Set

July 12, 1961 - The New York Court of Appeals has set the week of Aug. 7 for the execution of 17-year-old Salvatore (Capeman) Agron (pictured) for a double slaying during a New York City playground fight. The court set the date after upholding the death sentence of the Puerto Rican youth last week. However, the death sentence may be commuted by Gov. Rockefeller, who must hold a clemency hearing. The court found Agron guilty of stabbing to death Robert Young and Anthony Krzesi