Wednesday, January 25, 1961: JFK news conference

In a first, President John F. Kennedy's news conference is televised live.

* Summary (from history.com): @

* Footage (from JFK library): @

* Transcript (from JFK library): @

* "What were JFK's fabled press conferences really like?" (2009 article from The New Republic): @

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Tuesday, January 24, 1961: Bob Dylan

According to most accounts, a folk singer from Minnesota named Robert Allen Zimmerman, performing under the name Bob Dylan, arrives in New York on this date and within hours takes the stage on hootenanny night at Cafe Wha? in Greenwich Village. The photo shows Dylan, Karen Dalton and Fred Neil at Cafe Wha? in February 1961. A few days later, Dylan visits Woody Guthrie, his musical idol.

* Account from Rolling Stone magazine: @

* Account from "Bob Dylan: Behind the Shades Revisited" (book by Clinton Heylin): @

* "The Other Side of Greenwich Village '60s Folk Scene" (from fredneil.com): @

* Dylan meets Guthrie, from "Down the Highway: The Life of Bob Dylan" (book by Howard Sounes): @

* Words to "Last Thoughts on Woody Guthrie," a Dylan poem: @

* Listen to "Last Thoughts": @

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Tuesday, January 24, 1961: Nuclear accident in North Carolina

Carrying two nuclear bombs, an Air Force B-52 explodes in midair and crashes near Goldsboro, North Carolina. Three crew members die in the explosion/crash; five survive. One of the bombs parachutes safely to the ground (photo at left); the other breaks apart on impact. Nearby areas are excavated, but some parts of the second bomb are never recovered, having sunk deep in the swampy fields. To this day there are conflicting accounts (official and unofficial) as to how close the second bomb came to detonating.

* Summary from The North Carolina Collection (UNC Chapel Hill): @

* Summary from sonicbomb.com: @

* "Broken Arrow: Goldsboro, North Carolina" (website devoted to incident): @

* "US nearly detonated atomic bomb over North Carolina -- secret document" (The Guardian, 2013): @
* "Broken Arrow -- The Declassified History of U.S. Nuclear Weapons Accidents" (James C. Oskins, Michael H. Maggelet, 2008): @

* "Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Incident, and the Illusion of Safety" (Eric Schlosser, 2013): @
* "The Story Behind the Pentagon's Broken Arrows" (Mother Jones magazine, April 1981): @

* "Major U.S. nuclear weapons-related accidents: A chronology of publicly reported events (1950-2009)" (from the book "The Technology Trap," Lloyd J. Dumas, 2010)" @

* "Missing H-Bomb is Buried in North Carolina Swamp!" (Weekly World News, May 20, 1997): @

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Friday, January 20, 1961: JFK inauguration

John Fitzgerald Kennedy takes office as the 35th president of the United States. His inaugural speech is best remembered for its call to service:

"And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world, ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man."

It was not the first time Kennedy had spoken of the commitment necessary of government and citizens alike. It echoed his words when he accepted the Democratic nomination for president (see entry of July 15, 1960):

"Woodrow Wilson's New Freedom promised our nation a new political and economic framework. Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal promised security and succor to those in need. But the New Frontier of which I speak is not a set of promises. It is a set of challenges. It sums up not what I intend to offer to the American people, but what I intend to ask of them. It appeals to their pride -- it appeals to our pride, not our security. It holds out the promise of more sacrifice instead of more security."

Another often-quoted passage: "Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and the success of liberty."

Footage:

* 68 minutes, from NBC: @

* 37 minutes, from c-spanvideo.org; speech begins at the 15-minute mark: @

* 15 minutes, from John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum): @

Audio and transcript (from americanrhetoric.com): @

Images:

* Page from hand-written draft of speech, including "ask not" passage (from archives.gov): @

* Various drafts (including hand-written) and press copies of speech (from JFK Library): @

* Front page of Los Angeles Mirror: @

* Front page of Cleveland Plain Dealer: @

* Photo with a "viewer," allowing a closer look at all parts of the picture (from jfklibrary.org): @

* Photos from life.com: @

* Photos from Los Angeles Times: @

Books:

* "Ask Not: The Inauguration of John F. Kennedy and the Speech That Changed America" (by Thurston Clarke): @

* "Sounding the Trumpet: The Making of John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address" (by Richard J. Tofel): @

* "Counselor: A Life at the Edge of History" (by Kennedy aide Theodore J. Sorensen): @

Inauguration Gala:

* Official program: @

* Footage (76 minutes, from JFK Library): @

* Footage (18 minutes, from Museum of Broadcast Communications; click on link -- Windows Media Player only): @

Other:

* Poet Robert Frost wrote "Dedication" for the occasion. He began reading it but could not finish because of the sun's glare. Instead he recited "The Gift Outright" from memory. Text of both poems: @

* The speech ranks second in a 1999 survey of scholars on the best political speeches of the 20th century. Full list: @

* Time magazine (January 27): @

* Life magazine (January 27): @

* Ebony magazine (March): @

* List of firsts: @

* Lesson plan for high schoolers (from jfklibrary.org): @

* "Inauguration Weather: The Case of Kennedy" (January 2009 article from The Washington Post): @

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Undated: Coffee-mate

The Carnation Company begins selling Coffee-mate, the first non-dairy powdered creamer for coffee.

* www.coffee-mate.com: @

* Entry from the book "Better Than Homemade: Amazing Foods That Changed the Way We Eat": @

* Product website in Arabic (from www.nestle-family.com): @

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Tuesday, January 17, 1961: Eisenhower's farewell address

Three days before leaving office, President Dwight D. Eisenhower gives a nationally televised speech. Eisenhower uses the occasion to sound a warning about the "military-industrial complex" (a phrase first used here) becoming the driving force behind the United States' domestic and foreign policy. The tone and message are somewhat surprising, coming as they do from the former Army general. "Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together," Eisenhower says.

* Video: @
* Transcript and audio: @

* Short summary (from ourdocuments.gov): @

* "The 'Military-Industrial Complex' Speech" (written by Kevin C. Murphy for "The American Century: A History of the United States since the 1890s"): @

* "Military-Industrial Complex, Fifty Years On" (from Council on Foreign Relations): @

* Story about recent discovery of speech materials (New Yorker magazine, December 20, 2010): @

* Links to various materials (from eisenhower.archives.gov): @

* militaryindustrialcomplex.com: @

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Sunday, January 15, 1961: The Supremes

The newly formed Motown Records (see entry of April 14, 1960) signs the female singing group The Primettes to a recording contract. But it comes with a condition: the singers have to change their name, which they do, to The Supremes. The group consisted of, clockwise from left, Mary Wilson, Florence Ballard, Diane Ross (as she was called then) and Barbara Martin (who would leave the group in 1962). Their first single, "I Want A Guy" / "Never Again," would be released on March 9.

* Listen to "I Want A Guy": @

* Listen to "Never Again": @

* Short biography (from allmusic.com): @

* "The Supremes: A Saga of Motown Dreams, Success, and Betrayal" (book by Mark Ribowsky): @

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January 1961: 'Spy vs. Spy'

The Cold War cartoon debuts in the January issue of Mad magazine. The artist, Antonio Prohias, was an editorial cartoonist who had fled Cuba after Fidel Castro came to power. Each cartoon contains a string of Morse code that stands for "by prohias."

* Summary (from www.toonopedia.com): @

* Original artwork for first strip: @

* Tribute websites: @ and @

* "Spy vs. Spy: The Complete Casebook" (2001): @
* National Public Radio report from 2001: @

* "Tales Calculated to Drive You Mad: The Debunking of Spies, Superheroes and Cold War Rhetoric in Mad magazine's 'Spy vs. Spy' " (2007 paper from Journal of Popular Culture): @

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Wednesday, January 11, 1961: Integration of University of Georgia

Following a U.S. district judge's order, two black students -- Charlayne Hunter and Hamilton Holmes -- begin attending classes at the University of Georgia, two days after arriving in Athens. That night, violence breaks out on campus and on January 12, the two students are suspended "in the interest of your public safety and for the safety and welfare of more than 7,000 other students." The same district judge orders them reinstated, and they resume classes on January 16.

-- Summary:

* From Hargrett Library (University of Georgia): @

-- Videos:

* From the Civil Rights Digital Library -- go to "WSB-TV Newsfilm Collection" for a list of clips from the Atlanta television station: @

* You can also access WSB footage at the Brown Media Archive Newsfilm Database (search for "University of Georgia 1961"): @

-- Photos:

* Corbis Images: @

-- Books:

* "We Shall Not Be Moved: The Desegregation of the University of Georgia" (by Robert A. Pratt): @

* "An Education in Georgia" (by Calvin Trillin): @

-- Other:

* "Celebrating Courage" (University of Georgia commemorative website): @

* The Foot Soldier Project for Civil Rights Studies at the University of Georgia: @

* National Public Radio story featuring Charlayne Hunter-Gault: @

* "Shame in Georgia" (Time magazine, January 20, 1961; subscription required): @

* The Road to Integration (timeline from Our Georgia History website): @

* More about Athens (from Freedom on Film: Civil Rights in Georgia website): @

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Tuesday, January 3, 1961: Nuclear accident in Idaho

Three workers are killed in a steam explosion at the U.S. National Reactor Testing Station outside Idaho Falls, Idaho. It is America's first fatal nuclear accident. All of the victims are buried in lead-lined caskets; one of them, Army Specialist Richard McKinley, is at Arlington National Cemetery. (At left is a photo of a nearby roadway being tested for radiation after the accident.)

* Summary (from System Failure Case Studies, a NASA publication): @

* U.S. Atomic Energy Commission video: @

* Federal documents relating to accident (from U.S. Department of Energy): @

* "Idaho Falls: The Untold Story of America's First Nuclear Accident" (book by William McKeown): @

* "Runaway reactor": (Time magazine, January 13, 1961): @

* "5 times we almost nuked ourselves by accident" (from io9 website): @

* "Proving the Principle: A History of the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory": @

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Sunday, January 1, 1961: The farthing

By order of the British Treasury, the farthing -- at the time only equal to one-fourth of a penny -- stops being legal tender. They were first minted in 1279.

* "Fading Farthing" (Time magazine, Jan. 13, 1961): @

* About Farthings (website): @

* Coins of England and Great Britain (website): @

* Your Guide to British Coins (website): @

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1960: Year in review

* "Eyewitness: Remember 1960" (CBS News program): @

* "1960: Year of Upheaval" (News of the Day newsreel): @

* Audio and transcripts from UPI: @

* Article from George Mason University's History News Network: @

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Wednesday, December 28, 1960: 'Where the Boys Are'

Fort Lauderdale, Florida, becomes a premier spring break destination for college students after the release of the movie "Where the Boys Are." Its stars include Dolores Hart, Yvette Mimieux, George Hamilton and Jim Hutton. The theme song, performed by Connie Francis (also making her screen debut) is a worldwide hit.

* Movie summary (from TCM.com): @

* Watch movie trailer: @

* Listen to theme song: @

* "The Innocent Birth of the Spring Baccahanal" (2006 article from New York times; click on "multimedia"): @

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Tuesday, December 27, 1960: The Beatles in Litherland

In what is now considered a milestone moment for the band, the Beatles play at Litherland Town Hall in north Liverpool, England. The group (except for Stuart Sutcliffe) had recently returned from Hamburg, Germany. Chas Newby played bass on this night. Why a milestone moment? They were a much better band after their Hamburg stint, and accounts from that night indicate a rapidly growing excitement about their sound and performances.

* Summary from www.beatlesbible.com: @

* From "The Beatles" (book by Hunter Davies): @

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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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