Saturday, January 28, 1961: Louis Armstrong in Egypt

With his wife, Lucille, listening, jazz great Louis Armstrong plays the trumpet near the Sphinx and the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt. (Click on photo for a closer look.) Armstrong was on a tour of the Middle East and Africa, sponsored by the U.S. State Department, which sent a series of "jazz ambassadors" abroad to showcase America's image and to forge better relations with Eastern European and developing countries.

* "Jam Session: America's Jazz Ambassadors Embrace the World" (traveling exhibit): @

* "Jam Session" story and photos (from NPR): @

* Story and photos (from New York Times): @

* Story and video (from Voice of America): @

* "Satchmo Blows Up the World" (book by Penny M. Von Eschen): @

* "Jazz Diplomacy" (book by Lisa E. Davenport): @

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Monday, December 26, 1960: Operation Pedro Pan begins

Operation Pedro Pan was a program under which children were sent from Cuba to the United States, where they would receive education and care. It was operated by the Catholic Welfare Bureau of Miami and financed in part by the U.S. government. More than 14,000 children made the journey between December 1960 and October 1962, when the Cuban Missile Crisis brought an end to commercial flights between the two countries.

* pedropan.org: @

* Miami Herald site (stories and database): @

* "Operation Pedro Pan: The Untold Exodus of 14,048 Cuban Children" (book): @

* "Escape from Havana: An American Story" (CNBC video): @

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Tuesday, December 6, 1960: 'Little Boy' and 'Fat Man'

The U.S. government allows publication of photos of the types of atomic bombs that were dropped on Japan in 1945. The photo at far left is similar to "Little Boy," the nickname given the bomb dropped on Hiroshima; "Fat Man" was the Nagasaki bomb. Why the 15-year delay? "The executive branch of government ... have held that use of the photos might have an adverse effect on international relations, especially in Japan, where the bombs were used," reported the Associated Press.

* Los Angeles Mirror front page (Dec. 6): @

* Time magazine article (Dec. 19, 1960): @

* The Manhattan Project (from U.S. Department of Energy): @

* The Manhattan Project (from atomicarchive.com): @

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Sunday, November 27, 1960: 'Leap Into The Void'

French artist Yves Klein publishes a four-page newspaper called Dimanche (Sunday), sold for one day only in Paris. On the front page is one in a series of photos that came to be known as "Leap Into The Void." The image was manipulated and does not show the tarpaulin and the people on the street who actually caught Klein. Still debated, it's said to represent, in part, mankind (or artists) entering space.

* Yves Klein website: @

* The four pages of Dimanche (from Klein's website): @

* More about the image (from ARTnews): @

* Entry from The Metropolitan Museum of Art: @. Part of the exhibition "Faking It: Manipulated Photography Before Photoshop": overview @ and works @

* Other photos from the montage: @

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Friday, November 25, 1960: Mirabal sisters killed

Patria, Minerva and Maria Teresa Mirabal of the Dominican Republic were sisters who actively opposed the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo. They were beaten to death while going to visit Patria and Minerva's imprisoned husbands. (The sisters themselves had previously been jailed for their activities.) The government declared the sisters had died in an accident, but the public outcry turned them into symbols of resistance to the regime. (Trujillo would be assassinated in May 1961.)

In 1999 the United Nation designated November 25 as International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.

* Summary from Amnesty International: @

* More about the Mirabal family: @ and @

* About "In the Time of the Butterflies" (novel based on the sisters): @

* More about U.N. designation: @

* Photo gallery: @

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Monday, October 24, 1960: Nedelin Catastrophe

In the worst disaster of the space age, some 120 people are killed when a Soviet R-16 intercontinental ballistic missile explodes on the launch pad. It came to be known as the Nedelin Catastrophe because among the victims was Field Marshal Mitrofan Nedelin, the commander of the Soviet Strategic Rocket Forces (and the R-16 development program). The disaster was not brought to light by the Soviet government until 1989.

* Details of disaster: @ and @ and @

* Footage: @ and @

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Wednesday, October 19, 1960: Cuban embargo

The United States imposes a partial economic embargo on Cuba, prohibiting practically all exports to the island nation other than food and medicine. The move comes just days after Cuba had nationalized all U.S. banks. According to the State Department, the aim of the embargo is to "exert a serious pressure on the Cuban economy and contribute to the growing dissatisfaction and unrest in the country." However, a National Intelligence Estimate published in December says that "Economic dislocations will occur but will not lead to the collapse or significant weakening of the Castro regime."

* "Economic Sanctions as an Instrument of U.S. Foreign Policy: The Case of the U.S. Embargo Against Cuba" (book): @

* "Cuba and Economic Sanctions: A Cold War Strategy in the 21st Century" (U.S. Army War College, 2004): @

* Embargo timeline (through 2007): @

* "Cuba: The Battle of America" (CIA film, 1960): @

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Friday, October 14, 1960: Beginnings of the Peace Corps

Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kennedy makes a middle-of-the-night appearance at the University of Michigan. He challenges the students to serve their country and help promote peace by taking their energy and abilities to less-developed nations -- an idea that would evolve into the creation of the Peace Corps. Kennedy would first use the phrase in a Nov. 2 speech.

* Summary and transcript (from Peace Corps website): @

* More about the event (from Michigan Today): @

* "Celebrating JFK's Peace Corps Speech" (from Michigan Radio): @
* Excerpt from "John F. Kennedy: A Biography": @

* Transcript of Nov. 2 speech: @

* Entry from "Safire's Political Dictionary": @

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September-October, 1960: Khrushchev and the U.N.

* Monday, September 19: Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev arrives in New York for what will be a contentious session of the United Nations General Assembly. Also in New York is Cuba's leader, Fidel Castro, who had arrived the day before.

-- Footage of Khrushchev and Castro arriving in New York: @

* Tuesday, September 20: The General Assembly opens. Khrushchev and Castro meet for the first time. Afterward, Khrushchev likens Castro to "a young horse that hasn't been broken. He needs some training, but he's very spirited, so we'll have to be careful."
-- Footage of Khrushchev-Castro meeting: @

* Thursday, September 22: U.S. President Eisenhower expresses strong support for the U.N.'s role, particularly its peacekeeping activities in Africa. He also asks: "Will outer space be preserved for peaceful use and developed for the benefit of all mankind? Or will it become another focus for the arms race -- and thus an area of dangerous and sterile competition?"

-- Speech: Summary @ and text @

* Friday, September 23: Speaking for nearly two and a half hours, Khrushchev accuses the West of continuing to seek colonial rule in Africa. He also says the secretary-general's post should be abolished in favor of a three-person committee representing Communist, West and neutralist blocs. After Khrushchev's speech, a New York antiques dealer presents him with an American Indian peace pipe, saying "may the leaders of our two great powers, the USSR and the USA, see in this pipe a new age ... may you and the heads of other states symbolically smoke it together." (Click here for larger view.)

-- Portion of speech: @

* Monday, September 26: Castro speaks for more than four hours. He begins his speech by saying, "Although it has been said of us that we speak at great length, you may rest assured that we shall endeavor to be brief ..."

-- Text of speech: @ and @ (printed version)

* Thursday, September 29: Khrushchev interrupts a speech by British Prime Minister Harold MacMillan, pounding on his desk with his fists and shouting, "You send your planes over our territory, you are guilty of aggression!"

-- BBC summary: @

-- Life magazine coverage: @

-- Footage: @

* Monday, October 3: Khrushchev repeats his call for the removal of Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold, who replies that by doing so he would "throw the organization to the winds."

-- Footage: @

* Sunday, October 9: Khrushchev is interviewed on the "Open End" TV program, hosted by David Susskind. The interview turns contentious, with Khrushchev at one point threatening to walk off the set. The most memorable exchange:

Khrushchev: ... Our land is sacred and sovereign, and it's only the peoples of the Soviet Union themselves that have the right to govern their land, and administer their affairs. ... Why should you try to poke your nose into our garden? Have you not enough things to do in your own country?

Susskind: You're baying at the moon. ... We believe with all our might that there are many subjugated peoples in Eastern Europe. We ask that a plebiscite be held, not in your home country, not in the Soviet Union, but in many of the countries of Eastern Europe, who are now within the Soviet orbit.

Khrushchev: Is such an expression as "baying at the moon" regarded as normal polite conversation in your country? We regard it as rude. After all, I'm old enough to be your father, and young man, it is unworthy to speak to me like this. You look pleasant enough but you do not express yourself quite courteously. I do not permit an attitude like that towards myself. I did not come here to "bark" -- I am the chairman of the Council of Ministers of the world's greatest socialist state. You will therefore please show respect for me. If you do not want to, then do not invite me for an interview. There must be courtesy, but you are accustomed to prod and knock everyone about. Ours is the kind of state which will not allow itself to be ordered about.

-- More about the near-departure: @

-- Time magazine account: @

-- Photo from interview: @

* Wednesday, October 12: Shoe-banging incident. See separate post below.

* Thursday, October 13: After a final, failed attempt to have the U.N. condemn the United States for its U-2 spy flights, Khrushchev boards a plane and departs from New York. "We are leaving in a good mood," he says.

Other resources:

* "Khrushchev in New York" (Text of speeches, appearances): @

* "Memoirs of Nikita Khrushchev": @

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Wednesday, October 12, 1960: Khrushchev's shoe

At the United Nations, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev is said to have pounded his shoe on his desk after a Philippine delegate's remark about Soviet oppression of Eastern Europe. But did it really happen? The New York Times was unequivocal: "Premier Khrushchev waved his shoe today and banged it on his desk, adding to the lengthening list of antics with which he has been nettling the General Assembly." There are no photos or footage of the incident; the closest is a photo, taken by the Times, of Khrushchev seated at his desk with a shoe in front of him (click to enlarge).

-- Los Angeles Daily Mirror front page: @

-- 1988 New York Times story: @

-- 2003 New York Times story: @

-- Account by Khrushchev's granddaughter: @

-- Account from "Khrushchev: The Man and His Era" (book): @

-- Accounts from "Memoirs of Nikita Khrushchev": @ (Khrushchev) and @ (bodyguard) and @ (U.N. employee)

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Wednesday, October 12, 1960: Assassination in Japan

During a political debate in Tokyo among the leaders of the major parties, Inejiro Asanuma of the Socialist Party is fatally stabbed by a student with a samurai sword. The event is captured live on television and by photographers. The assassin, Otoya Yamaguchi, called Asanuma "a pro-Communist enemy of the people." Yamaguchi hangs himself in his jail cell less than three weeks later.

* Footage: @

* Longer summary: @

* Story, photos in Life magazine: @

* Stories in Time magazine: @ and @

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Wednesday, September 14, 1960: Sir Edmund Hillary

Sir Edmund Hillary (who with Sherpa guide Tenzing Norgay were the first people known to have reached the top of Mount Everest, in 1953) sets off on the Himalayan Scientific and Mountaineering Expedition. While a primary objective of Hillary's mission is to study the effects of high altitude on the human body, he is also searching for physical evidence of the Yeti, the so-called Abominable Snowman. Fur samples collected by Hillary's team turn out to be those of a bear and a serow (a goat-like animal).

* Hillary biography (from New Zealand History online): @

* "Epitaph to the Elusive Abominable Snowman" (article by Hillary for Life magazine), January 1961: @

* Yeti descriptions and links: @ (Museum of Unnatural History) and @ (Live Science)

* "Abominable Snowmen" (Ivan T. Sanderson, 1961): @

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Wednesday, September 14, 1960: OPEC

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is established during a four-day meeting in Baghdad, Iraq. Its members are Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela; its mission is "ensuring the stabilization of prices in international oil markets with a view to eliminating harmful and unncessary price fluctuations." It was created in response to the United States' decision to restrict the amount of oil imported from those countries in favor of oil from Canada and Mexico. That action had depressed the OPEC countries' oil prices while benefiting U.S. oil companies.

* OPEC history: @ and @

* "The Founding of OPEC" (from New York Times): @

* Timeline: @

* Economic overview: @ and @

* Statute: @

* Short history of oil: @

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Thursday, August 25 - Sunday, September 11, 1960: Summer Olympics

The Games of the XVII Olympiad take place in Rome, Italy. More than 5,000 athletes from 83 countries are competing in 150 events. The official emblem depicts a Roman she-wolf, nursing Romulus and Remus. (Legend has it that the twins founded the city of Rome.)

-- Emblem: @

* Sunday, September 11: Games conclude. The final medal count: Russia 103, United States 71, Germany 42.

-- Medals by country: @

* Saturday, September 10: Abebe Bikila of Ethiopia wins the marathon -- running barefoot. He is the first black African to win a gold medal.

-- Footage from Olympic.org: @

-- Footage in Italian (two parts): @ and

@

* Wednesday, September 7: Don Bragg of the United States wins gold in the pole vault. His nickname is "Tarzan"; he lets loose with a Tarzan yell from the victory podium and hopes to play the jungle man in the movies (as Olympic swimmer Johnny Weissmuller had before him).

-- Life magazine photo spread: @

-- 2003 article: @

-- Excerpts from "A Chance to Dare: The Don Bragg Story" (book):

@

* Tuesday, September 6: The battle for the decathlon gold -- between Rafer Johnson of the United States and C.K. Yang of Taiwan -- comes down to the 10th of 10 events, the 1,500-meter race. Johnson has the overall lead, though Yang has won 6 of the previous 9 events. To win the gold, Yang will have to defeat Johnson by more than 10 seconds. He doesn't, as Johnson stays close to Yang throughout the race. (A footnote: Johnson and Yang were close friends, having trained together as teammates at UCLA. The photo above was taken just after the 1,500 meters.)

-- Sports Illustrated story: @

-- Footage of decathlon: @

* Monday, September 5: Cassius Clay, an 18-year-old from Louisville, Kentucky, wins the gold medal in boxing (light heavyweight division). He turns professional after the Games and would have his first pro fight in October.

-- Footage of finals (2 parts): @ and

@

* Saturday, September 3: Klaus Zerta of Germany wins a gold medal in rowing (he is the coxswain in men's coxed pairs). Zerta is 13 years and 283 days old, making him the youngest male gold medalist ever.

* Friday, September 2: Wilma Rudolph wins the 100 meters, the first of her 3 gold medals (the others being in the 200 meters and the 4 x 100 relay). Born the 20th of 22 children in St. Bethlehem, Tennessee, she contracted polio as a child and wore a leg brace for several years. Her high school nickname was "Skeeter," but her dazzling Olympic performance would earn her the names "La Gazella Negra" ("The Black Gazelle") in Italy and "La Perle Noire" ("The Black Pearl") in France.

-- More about Rudolph: @ and @ (video) and @ (1994 obituary)

-- Photos and video from Olympic.org : @

-- "Wilma Rudolph and the TSU Tigerbelles": @

-- Time magazine article (September 19, 1960): @

-- Rudolph on "To Tell the Truth":

@

* Thursday, September 1: U.S. swimmer Jeff Farrell wins two gold medals, in the 4 x 100 and 4 x 200 relays. His victories were especially noteworthy because he had competed in the U.S. trials in early August just six days after undergoing an emergency appendectomy.

-- More about Farrell: @

* August 30-31: On August 30, East Germany restricted travel between East and West Berlin. On August 31, South Africa lifted the state of emergency that had followed the Sharpesville massacre (see entries of March 21 and April 8-9). While the Games were relatively free of politics, several issues were simmering just below the surface:

-- The Berlin Wall was just a year away. Despite their political differences, the two Germanys competed as one team, under orders from the International Olympic Committee. (More about East Germany's August 30 action: @)

-- These Games would be the last in which South Africa would compete until 1992, because of the country's apartheid government.

-- As in 1956, mainland China did not compete, in protest of Taiwan being allowed to take part. In 1960, Taiwan wanted to be designated the Republic of China at the Games. When the IOC would not allow it, the Taiwanese delegation walked in the Parade of Nations behind a sign that read "Under Protest." (Taiwan timeline: @; photo of Taiwan delegation in 1956 Olympics: @)

* August 26: On a blisteringly hot day, during a time trial in the 100-kilometer team event, Danish cyclist Knud Enemark Jensen, 23, falls and fractures his skull. He dies the same day. It's later revealed that he had stimulants in his system. His death would lead the International Olympic Committee to ban performance-enhancing substances and institute drug testing for the 1968 Games.

-- Photos from race: @

-- "Doping in Elite Sport: The Politics of Drugs in the Olympic Movement" (book): @

-- "Dope: A History of Performance Enhancement in Sports from the Nineteenth Century to Today" (book): @

* August 26: CBS begins its television coverage. For viewers in the United States, the Games were tape-delayed -- literally. Footage of the events was flown daily from Rome to New York. The 5-hour difference between the cities meant the footage could arrive in time for Jim McKay (then working for CBS) to host same-day, late-night highlights from New York.

-- TV/radio listings for August 26 (Poughkeepsie Journal): @

* August 25: Opening ceremonies at Olympic Stadium. Rafer Johnson, who will compete in the decathlon, is the first African-American to carry the flag for the United States during the Parade of Nations.

-- Footage of opening ceremonies: @

-- Route of Olympic torch: @

* August 24: The day before the games begin, Pope XXIII blesses the assembled athletes in St. Peter's Square.

-- Text of "A Sound Mind in a Sound Body" (papal address, in Latin -- still trying to find an English-language version): @

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* Sports Illustrated preview: @

* "Rome 1960" (from Olympic.org): @

* Medalists: @

* Daily events (click on "choose the day"): @

* The Official Report of the Organizing Committee: @

* Olympic Games Museum: @

* "Rome 1960: The Olympics That Changed the World" (book): @

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