Wednesday. November 8, 1961: Insider trading

From "The Iconic Insider Trading Cases," by Stephen M. Bainbridge, law professor, UCLA School of Law, Law & Economics Research Paper Series:

The modern federal insider trading prohibition fairly can be said to have begun with Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC or "Commission") enforcement action in Cady, Roberts & Co. Curtiss-Wright Corporation's board of directors decided to reduce the company's quarterly dividend. One of the directors, J. Cheever Cowdin, was also a partner of stock brokerage firm Cady, Roberts & Co. Before the news was announced, Cowdin informed one of his partners, Robert M. Gintel, of the impending dividend cut. Gintel then sold several thousand shares of Curtiss-Wright stock held in customer accounts over which he had discretionary trading authority. When the dividend cut was announced, Curtiss-Wright's stock price fell several dollars per share. Gintel's customers thus avoided substantial losses.

Cady, Roberts involved what is now known as tipping: an insider who knows confidential infromation does not himself trade, but rather informs -- tips -- someone else, who does trade. It also involved trading on an impersonal stock exchange, instead of a face-to-face transaction. As the SEC acknowledged, this made it "a case of first impression." Nonetheless, the SEC held that Gintel had violated Rule 10b-5.

* SEC ruling (in PDF form): @

* Summary of case and links (from sechistorical.org): @

* Insider trading timeline (from procon.org): @

* General information about insider trading (from upstartraising.com): @

* "From Horse Trading to Insider Trading: The Historical Antecedents of the Insider Trading Debate" (Paula J. Dalley, William and Mary Law Review, 1998): @

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November 1961: 'The Fantastic Four'

Mister Fantastic, the Human Torch, Invisible Girl and The Thing -- all given extraordinary powers after a spaceflight through cosmic radiation -- make their comic-book debut in Marvel's answer to DC's Justice League of America.

* Entry from marvel.com: @

* Series history from www.comics.org: @

* Series history from comicbookdb.com: @

* JC's Fantastic Four site: @

* "The Science of Superheroes" (book by Lois H. Gresh, Robert Weinberg): @

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November 1961: 'The Executive Coloring Book'

The tongue-in-cheek look at corporate life becomes a surprising best-seller. Wrote Time magazine, " 'The Executive Coloring Book' and a box of crayons will provide many a happy hour to growing vice presidents..." The book was written by Marcie Hans, Dennis Altman and Martin A. Cohen, who all worked in advertising in Chicago. Hans would go on to write "The Executive Cut-Out Book," while Altman and Cohen would team up on "The John Birch Coloring Book."

* Contents of "The Executive Coloring Book": @

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Wednesday, November 1, 1961: Women Strike for Peace

Thousands of women throughout the United States demonstrate in protest against nuclear weapons. The rallies were organized by Women Strike for Peace, founded by Bella Abzug and Dagmar Wilson. WSP's guiding statement, adopted in 1962:

"We are women of all races, creeds and political persuasions. We are dedicated to the purpose of complete and general disarmament. We demand that nuclear tests be banned forever, that the arms race end and the world abolish all weapons of destruction under United Nations safeguards. We cherish the right and accept the responsibility to act to influence the course of goverment for peace. ... We join with women throughout the world to challenge the right of any nation or group of nations to hold the power of life and death over the world."

* Official website: @

* "Women Strike for Peace: Traditional Motherhood and Radical Politics in the 1960s" (book by Amy Swerdlow): @

* "Peace as a Women's Issue: A History of the U.S. Movement for World Peace and Women's Rights" (book by Harriet Hyman Alonso): @

* Video footage: @

* "U.S. Women Parade in Bid to End Arms Race" (The Age newspaper, Melbourne, Australia, November 3, 1961): @

* "Jackie and Nina Plead for Peace" (responses from Jacqueline Kennedy and Nina Khrushchev; Miami News, November 15, 1961): @

* Slideshow of 1962 protest at Nevada Test Site: @

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October 30, 1961: Tsar Bomba

From Cornell University Library: Tsar Bomba ("King Bomb" in Russian) is the nickname for the AN602 hydrogen bomb, the most powerful nuclear weapon ever detected. Developed by the Soviet Union, the bomb was originally designed to have a yield of about 100 megatons of TNT. However, the bomb yield was reduced to 50 megatons to reduce nuclear fallout. The attempt was successful, as it was one of the cleanest nuclear bombs ever detonated. Only one bomb of this type was ever built and it was tested on October 30, 1961, in the Novaya Zemlya archipeloago. Weighing 27 tons, the bomb was so large (26 ft long and 6.6 ft in diameter) that the bomber that carried it had to have its bomb bay doors and fuselage fuel tanks removed. The bomb was attached to a 1,760-lb. fall-retardation parachute, which gave the release and observer planes time to fly about 28 miles from ground zero. The fireball, about 5 miles in diameter, was prevented from touching the ground by the shockwave, but nearly reached the 6.5 mile altitude of the deploying bomber.

* Summary (from wired.com): @

* Summary and videos (from nuclearweaponarchive.org): @

* "Moscow's Biggest Bomb" (from Cold War International History Project, page 3): @

* Map of blast site (from Corbis Images): @

* Newspaper front pages: @ and @

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Monday-Tuesday, October 30-October 31, 1961: Stalin's body

The New York Times, October 30:

Stalin's Body to Be Moved

From Tomb in Red Square

Party Votes Unanimously to Transfer

Downgraded Dictator From Side of

Lenin in Communism's Shrine

MOSCOW, Oct. 30 -- The Soviet Union took the dramatic step of shattering the image of Stalin today by ordering his body removed from its place beside the sarcophagus of Lenin in the great mausoleum in Red Square.

The transfer of the body of Stalin, preserved by a secret chemical formula since his death in March, 1953, was approved unanimously by the twenty-second congress of the Soviet Communist party.

For Premier Khrushchev, the congress resolution symbolized the defeat of elements in the Soviet Union that have opposed his post-Stalin reforms. It capped the campaign of de-Stalinization begun by Mr. Khrushchev at the twentieth party congress in 1956.

Stalin had been denounced by Mr. Khrushchev for opposing the Leninist thesis of "peaceful coexistence" and for his internal regime of terror.

From a 2009 story in Pravda: "(In 1953) Stalin's body was embalmed and placed for public viewing in Lenin's Mausoleum, which was then called 'The Mausoleum of V.I. Lenin and I.V. Stalin.' On October 30, 1961, the 22nd Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union ruled that Stalin's gross desecration of Lenin's legacy made it impossible to keep the casket with his body in the Mausoleum. Stalin's body was removed from the Mausoleum on the night of October 31, 1961, and buried in the grave underneath the Kremlin wall."

The official statement from the 22nd Congress (translations vary; this is from the Times article): "The further presence in the mausoleum of the sarcophagus with the coffin of J.V. Stalin shall be regarded as inexpedient because the serious violations by Stalin of the Leninist behests, the abuses of power, the mass reprisals against honest Soviet people and other actions during the period of the personality cult make it impossible to leave the coffin with his body in the V.I. Lenin Mausoleum."

Stalin's name was also removed from the outside of the mausoleum.

* Excerpt from "Digging up the Dead: A History of Notable American Reburials" (book by Michael G. Kammen): @

* "The speech Russia wants to forget" (about Khrushchev's 1956 speech; from BBC): @

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Friday-Saturday, October 27-28, 1961: Standoff in Berlin

For 16 tense hours, tanks from the United States and the Soviet Union face off on either side of the Berlin Wall, at the Friedrichstrasse crossing point (also known as Checkpoint Charlie). Tensions had escalated over the past several days over the issue of Allied access to the Soviet sector. In the end, neither side was willing to take the next military step, though all the tanks were fully armed. After back-channel negotiations, Soviet tanks pulled back first, followed by the Americans.

* Summary from U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center: @

* Summary from Frederick Kempe, author of "Berlin 1961": @

* Summary from The Atlantic Times (monthly newspaper in Germany): @

* Summary and CNN video (from www.liveleak.com): @

* Footage from www.britishpathe.com: @

* "Berlin crisis: The standoff at Checkpoint Charlie" (from The Guardian newspaper; click on photo with story for explanation): @

* Checkpoint Charlie (from berlin.de): @

* "Kennedy and the Berlin Wall" (book by W.R. Smyser): @

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October 1961: 'The Death and Life of Great American Cities'

The influential book by urban activist Jane Jacobs is published. In it, the New York resident takes direct aim at urban planning policies. From a 2011 article in The Guardian newspaper: "Jacobs, a housewife, mother and part-time architectural journalist, had been drawn into the campaign to prevent New York's dictatorial planning boss Robert Moses -- who had already ripped up swaths of the city -- from driving a highway through her native Greenwich Village. ... But her book did not just dwell, negatively, on the harm New York's car-obsessed, modern-minded planners were doing. Building on close observeration of her own and other neighborhoods, she mounted a thorough and original defense of traditional city forms against both the garden city movement and modernist city planning. She argued that dense, mixed-income mixed-use neighborhoods, designed around short city blocks with busy amenity-lined streets and small parks, had a huge range of benefits unappreciated by modern urban planners, who mistakenly associated the old city with all the evils of the 19th-century slum."

The photo shows Jacobs at a December 1961 news conference of the Committee to Save the West Village. (From the New York World-Telegram & Sun Newspaper Collection, Library of Congress)

* Short biography (from Project for Public Spaces): @

* New York Times review (November 5, 1961): @

* "Cobblestone Conservative: How Jane Jacobs saved New York City's Soul" (The American Conservative, October 2011): @

* Symposium on book and its impact (From The American Conservative): @

* "Genius of Common Sense: Jane Jacobs and the story of 'The Death and Life of Great American Cities' " (book by Glenna Lang and Marjory Wunsch): @

* "Wrestling with Moses: How Jane Jacobs Took On New York's Master Builder and Transformed the American City" (book by Anthony Flint): @

* "Downtown is for People" (1958 article by Jacobs in Fortune magazine): @

* New York Times obituary (2006): @

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Tuesday, October 24, 1961: Prime minister's questions

After a trial run in July, Prime Minister's Question Time is made a part of England's parliamentary proceedings. The format allows members of Parliament to ask questions directly to the prime minister in the House of Commons. An information sheet prepared for Parliament says the questions are meant "to seek information, to press for action and to hold the Government to account." The sessions take place twice a week, for 15 minutes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. (In 1997, Prime Minister Tony Blair would change it to a single 30-minute session weekly.)

Harold Macmillan, prime minister in 1961, described it this way:

"You have to know who is your questioner ... like a prep school, there are boys who are popular, whom you must never slap down, even if they are asking a silly question. then there are the unpopular, the tiresome, and the House rather enjoys their being slapped down ... You must remember that, like a school, on the whole it dislikes the front bench (the masters) ... often you can turn an enemy into a friend, by some slight recognition. Always keep your temper ... and always have a good control of questions and supplementaries ... in many ways it is the most anxious work; I would never have lunched out on question day."

The photo is from 2007; Prime Minister Tony Blair is at center left.

* History and procedure (from www.parliament.uk): @

* Explainer (from BBC): @

* Explainer (from www.number10.gov.uk): @

* Explainer (from www.parliament.uk): @

* "50 Years of PMQs" (from The Independent newspaper): @

* "Prime Minister's Question Time celebrates 50 years" (from The Telegraph newspaper): @

* "What's the art of answering a tricky question?" (from the BBC): @

* Videos of questions from 2008 to present day: (from www.parliament.uk): @

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Undated: Paul Rand

Graphic designer Paul Rand creates a new logo for United Parcel Service. It was one of a string of distinctive, enduring corporate trademarks created by Rand, including IBM (designed in 1956 and refined in 1972), Westinghouse in 1960 and ABC in 1962.

* www.paul-rand.com: @

* Biography and career of Rand (from www.iconofgraphics.com): @

* History of UPS logo (from www.goodlogo.com): @

* History of IBM logo (from www.ibm.com): @

* Westinghouse brand guidelines (PDF): @

* Timeline of notable logos (from www.goodlogo.com): @

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Wednesday, October 18, 1961: 'Le Bateau'

The exhibition "The Last Works of Henri Matisse: Large Cut Gouaches" opens at New York's Museum of Modern Art. One of the works, "Le Bateau" had been hung upside down. The error would not be noticed until December 3; it was turned right side up the next day. (The correct version is at left; below is The New York Times headline of December 5.)

* Other examples of upside-down artworks: @

* MoMa press release (October 1961): @

* MoMa account (2001): @

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Wednesday, October 18, 1961: 'West Side Story'

The film version of the stage musical has its premiere in New York. From the official website: "Two gangs from opposite sides of the street. One romance that dared to cross the line. In 1961, this movie adaptation of the Broadway smash-hit musical 'West Side Story' broke box office records and won an incredible 10 Academy Awards, more than any other musical before or since. On the streets of New York City, two gangs (the Sharks and the Jets) battle for territory and respect. But when Tony, the leader of the Jets, falls in love with Maria, the sister of Sharks leader Bernardo, a chain of events is set in motion that will tear their worlds apart forever. Featuring music from Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim, and songs like 'America,' 'Somewhere' and 'Tonight,' this timeless story of star-crossed lovers and rival gangs races to a shattering climax you will never forget."

* Official website: @

* Entry at www.tcm.com: @

* www.westsidestory.com: @

* Detailed synopsis (from filmsite.org): @

* Story and photos in Life magazine (October 20): @

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Tuesday, October 17, 1961: Massacre in Paris

A protest by some 30,000 Algerians living in Paris turns violent, as local police are ordered to use force to stop the demonstration. The number of protesters killed is estimated at up to 300; many bodies were found dumped in the Seine. The demonstration, organized by the FLN movement (National Liberation Front), was part of an years-long campaign, often violent, by Algerians to gain independence from France.

The caption on the top photo (from Corbis Images) reads: "Police shoot Algerian demonstrators dead in Paris." The bottom photo, showing words painted on a bridge, translates as "Algerians are drowned here."

* The day's events (from rfi.fr): @

* Photo gallery (from Le Monde newspaper): @

* "The Paris Massacre of 1961 and Memory" (from the book "Crisis and Renewal in France, 1918-1962"): @

* "Paris 1961: Algerians, State Terror and Memory" (book by Jim House and Neil McMaster, who also wrote the article cited above): @

* "A 1961 Massacre of Algerians in Paris: When the Media Failed the Test" (from Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, 1997): @

* Short summary of Algerian War of Independence (from encyclopedia.com): @

* Medium-length summary (from Armed Conflicts Events Data): @

* Long summary (from statemaster.com): @

* Chronology of war (from Atlantic magazine, 2006): @

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Monday, October 16, 1961: 'Mastering the Art of French Cooking'

Written by Simone Beck, Louisette Berthole and Julia Child, the influential cookbook is published by Alfred A. Knopf. Craig Claiborne of The New York Times wrote: "... it will probably remain as the definitive work for nonprofessionals. ... It is written in the simplest terms possible and without compromise or condescension. The recipes are glorious ... All are painstakingly edited and written as if each were a masterpiece, and most of them are."

* "Julia Child, the French Chef" (chapter from "Eating History: 30 Turning Points in the Making of American Cuisine): @

* "My Life in France" (book by Child and Alex Prud'homme): @

* Child entry from "The Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink": @

* Boeuf Bourguignon recipe: @

* Omelette recipes: @

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Saturday, October 14, 1961: Operation Sky Shield II

Military forces from the United States, Canada and England conduct the second in a series of tests of North American air defenses. From United Press International:

A mock but mighty aerial war flared high in the skies over the North American continent today. At noon hundreds of jet interceptor planes began screaming aloft from runways in the United States and Canada. Antiaircraft missile launchers pointed toward targets, although they fired no actual missiles. Jet bombers headed down from near the polar regions. They flew far aloft or hugged the terrain to escape radar detection, over routes Soviet pilots likely would take in strikes toward targets.

From noon to midnight no airline, no civilian plane would be airborne while the air maneuvers soared above over 14 million square miles of the continent and its seaward environs.

Gen. Laurence S. Kuter, chief of the North American Air Defense Command -- a combined organization of U.S. and Canadian defense systems -- directed the defenders from his headquarters at Colorado Springs, Colo. He announced the start of exercise Sky Shield II at noon, EST. ... Kuter declared that this operation involving hundreds of fighter planes and B52 and B47 bombers of the Strategic Air Command was "not a contest" between offensive and defensive forces. The position of the bombers will be known at all times.

It would be the largest and longest such flight stoppage until the attacks of September 11, 2001.

(The photo, from the New York Journal American newspaper, shows a TWA plane on public display that day.)

* Summary (from Mitchell Gallery of Flight): @

* "The Day Nobody Flew" (Air & Space magazine, 2006): @

* "This Is Only a Test" (Air & Space magazine, 2002): @

* Newsreel: @

* "U.S. Air Defense to Test Muscle in Sky Shield II" (The Leader-Herald, October 11): @

* "Defense: Testing the Shield" (Time magazine, 1961): @

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