November 1962: 'Happiness is a Warm Puppy'

"Peanuts" creator Charles M. Schulz's small book of gentle joys is published by Determined Productions. It took its title and concept from the last panel of his daily comic strip of April 25, 1960. The book quickly became a best-seller. 

* "Special Report on Happiness" (Life magazine, December 14, page 23): @

* "Schulz and Peanuts" (David Michaelis, 2008): @
* Charles M. Schulz Museum: @ 

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Tuesday, November 27, 1962: 'I Have a Dream'

Speaking in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. gives a speech using the "I Have a Dream" construction, nine months before his famous speech at the March on Washington on August 28, 1963. (King is also said to have used the phrase even earlier, including in a speech in Albany, Georgia, on November 16, but the Rocky Mount speech is the earliest known recording, thanks to the efforts of W. Jason Miller, whose book is linked below.) News accounts of the speech did not mention "I Have a Dream"; it quoted King as saying: "Old Man Segregation is on his death bed. The only thing now is how costly the South will make his funeral."

-- Photo from www.waymarking.com

* Audio excerpts from speech:  @
* "King Urges 'Nonviolence' " (Associated Press, November 28): @
* Marker description from North Carolina Highway Historical Marker Program: @

* "Origins of the Dream: Hughes's Poetry and King's Rhetoric" (W. Jason Miller, 2015): @

* "Making a Way Out of No Way" (Wolfgang Mieder, 2010): @

* "The Dream: Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Speech that Inspired a Nation" (Drew D. Hansen, 2005): @

* "A Call to Conscience: The Landmark Speeches of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr." (edited by Clayborne Carson and Kris Shepard, 2001): @ 

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Undated: Hawks and doves

Writing in the December 8, 1962, issue of The Saturday Evening Post, Stewart Alsop and Charles Bartlett recount the meetings and decision-making in Washington during the Cuban Missile Crisis. The article helps popularize the political/military labels "hawks" and "doves" with the following passage:

"The hawks favored an air strike to eliminate the Cuban missile bases, either with or without warning. ... The doves opposed the air strike and favored a blockade."

"Hawk" was a shortened version of "war hawk," which dates to at least 1792.

The article also quotes Secretary of State Dean Rusk as saying, "We're eyeball to eyeball, and I think the other fellow just blinked."

* Saturday Evening Post article (PDF): @

* "War Hawks, Uncle Sam, and The White House: Tracing the Use of Three Phrases in Early American Newspapers" (Donald R. Hickey, Wayne State University, via Readex): @

* "Safire's Political Dictionary" (William Safire, first published in 1968; search for "doves" and "war hawks"): @

* "Of Hawks, Doves -- and Now, Owls" (Graham Allison, Joseph S. Nye and Albert Carnesale, The New York Times, 1985): @  

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Saturday, November 10, 1962: Thalidomide acquittal

Vandeput

From The Associated Press (November 11):

   LIEGE, Belgium -- Three women and two men tried for the killing of a malformed thalidomide baby girl were acquitted yesterday by a 12-man jury.

   The accused were: Suzanne Vandeput, 24, accused of the homicide of her daughter, Corinne, by administering barbiturate drugs in the baby's food; her husband, Jean Vandeput, 35; her sister, Monique de la Marck, 26, the child's grandmother, Fernande Yerna, 50, and the family doctor, Jacques Casters, 33, all accused of complicity,

   The trial lasted five days. The prosecution had demanded convictions for the death of the 8-day-old baby.

   Applause and shouts from the huge crowd packed into every inch of the court greeted the verdict. Women fainted and were held up by the pressure of the crowd.

   Mrs. Vandeput was given thalidomide during her pregnancy by Dr. Casters. In May, she gave birth to a girl without arms, without shoulders, with completely deformed feet, and other gruesome deformities.

   A family council with her husband, who is a municipal clerk, her mother, and her sister, decided that the deformed baby should be humanely killed.

   Dr. Casters, who felt himself responsible for the tragedy, prescribed the barbiturate which Suzanne mixed into the baby's milk -- with the full knowledge and support of her husband, her mother and her sister. Corinne died painlessly in her sleep at the age of 7 days.

* Newsreel: @

* Life magazine (August 10): @

* "All 5 Freed In Death of Thal Baby" (Miami News, November 11): @

* "Cheers, Tears Support Thal Trial Acquittal Verdict" (Miami News, November 15): @

* thalidomide50.blogspot.com: @

Previous posts:

* 1962 (Thalidomide in the U.S.): @

* 1961 (Letter in The Lancet): @

* 1960 (Drug application): @ 

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November 1962: Peel P50

The Peel P50, a three-wheeled microcar, is introduced at the International Cycle and Motor Cycle Show, held November 10-17 at Earls Court in London. The one-person car was just over 4 feet long, about 3 feet wide and weighed 130 pounds, with one door and one headlight. It had no reverse gear.

* Summary from BBC: @

* Entry from Microcar Museum: @

* More about the car: @

* More photos: @
* Auto show newsreels: @ and @ and @

* Peel Engineering: @ 

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Tuesday, November 6, 1962: U.S. elections

Richard Nixon's defeat in California would get most of the headlines, but the elections would also see victories by several politicians who would rise to national prominence in the coming years -- George Wallace, Ted Kennedy and George McGovern among them.
* "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 6, 1962" (U.S. Goverment Printing Office): @

* Miami News, November 7: @

* Life magazine, November 16: @

* Nixon -- Two years after narrowly losing the presidency to John F. Kennedy, Nixon is defeated by incumbent Democrat Pat Brown in the race for California's governorship. In conceding the race on November 7, Nixon holds what he calls his "last press conference," telling the media that "you don't have Nixon to kick around anymore."

* Audio of press conference (from www.history.com): @
* Video of closing words: @
* "Media Bias in Presidential Election Coverage, 1948-2008" (David W. D'Alessio, 2012; see Chapter 1): @
* Entry on exact wording (from Language Log, blog at University of Pennsylvania): @

* See earlier posts by clicking on "Nixon" label below. 

(Photo from November 7 press conference; from Corbis Images)

* Wallace -- In his second bid for the Alabama governorship, the former circuit judge was assured of victory when he won the Democratic runoff in May; the Republican Party did not field a candidate for the general election.
* Entry from Encyclopedia of Alabama: @

* Entry from Alabama Department of Archives and History: @

* Timeline of Wallace's Life (from PBS.org): @

* "George Wallace: American Populist" (Stephen Lesher, 1995): @
* Earlier entry on Wallace comic book: @

(Campaign poster from www.legacyamericana.com)

* Kennedy -- The younger brother of President Kennedy wins a U.S. Senate seat in Massachusetts. JFK, who had been re-elected to the Senate in 1958, had resigned the seat in 1960 after he won the presidency. The seat was filled by Benjamin Smith until the special election in 1962.

* tedkennedy.org: @

* Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate: @
* Photo gallery of Senate campaign from Time.com: @

(Photo taken after the September Democratic primary; from Corbis Images)

* McGovern -- The former director of the Food for Peace program was elected senator from South Dakota; he would be the Democratic nominee for president in 1972.
* Entry from Biographical Directory of the United States Congress: @
* Food for Peace website: @

(1962 photo from John F. Kennedy Presidential Library)

* John Connally -- elected governor of Texas; he would be shot and wounded when President Kennedy was assassinated in November 1963.

* Entry from Texas State Historical Association: @


* George Romney -- elected governor of Michigan; he would seek the Republican nomination for president in 1968.
* "Romney's Way: A Man and an Idea" (T. George Harris, 1967): @

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November 1962: 'Personal computer'

From a November 2 story by The Associated Press:

   WASHINGTON -- Pocket-size computers may eliminate the housewife's weekly shopping list. Electronic communication would tell the store in advance what she needed. She would simply pick up the bundles.
   This was envisioned today by Dr. John W. Mauchly, inventor of some of the original room-size computers, who has developed one the size of a suitcase and is now working on a pocket variety.
   Dr. Mauchly, here to address a meeting of the American Institute of Industrial Engineers, said that in a decade or so everyone would have his own computer. Data pertinent to the individual and his problems would be stored in the computers' wafer-thin memory cells. ...
   The inventor's original computers weighed nearly 30 tons and occupied 15,000 feet of floor space. His latest is a portable 50-pound one of suitcase size.
   The present emphasis on miniaturizing components of missile and spacecraft will inevitably result in developing small, inexpensive computers within the financial reach of almost everyone, Dr. Mauchly said.
   "There is no reason to suppose the average boy or girl cannot be master of a personal computer," he said.
* Mauchly entry from National Inventors Hall of Fame: @

* "John W. Mauchly and the Development of the ENIAC computer" (University of Pennsylvania): @

* Mauchly biography (University of St. Andrews, Scotland): @

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October 1962: 'Do You Hear What I Hear?'

Written by Noel Regney and Gloria Shayne at the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis, the song's plea for peace would make it a Christmas standard. It was first recorded by the Harry Simeone Chorale in late 1962, and would become a hit for Bing Crosby in 1963.

* Story from www.americancatholic.org (2007): @

* Noel Regney obituary (2002): @

* Gloria Shayne obituary (2008): @ 

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October 1962: Cuban Missile Crisis

Note: With so many authoritative websites and resources dealing with the crisis (some of which are linked below), what follows is a very abbreviated timeline of the 13 days -- October 16 through October 28 -- that are regarded as the beginning and end of the nuclear showdown between the United States and the Soviet Union.

Tuesday, October 16: President John F. Kennedy is told that a missile site capable of firing nuclear weapons against the United States is under construction in Cuba. The evidence comes from aerial photographs taken October 14. The first meeting of what came to be called ExComm (the Executive Committee of the National Security Council) is held.

Wednesday, October 17: U.S. officials discuss a response, including an airstrike or naval blockade against Cuba.

Thursday, October 18: Kennedy meets with Soviet foreign minister Andrei Gromyko and ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin. Gromyko says the missiles are defensive; Kennedy knows otherwise but does not tell the Soviets.

Friday, October 19: The Joint Chiefs of Staff push their case for military action amid more photos of Soviet activity.

Saturday, October 20: The first Soviet missile is declared "combat-ready."

Sunday, October 21: Kennedy approves the quarantine option.

Monday, October 22: In a nationally televised address, Kennedy announces the quarantine against Cuba. Meanwhile, the United States' B-52 nuclear bomber force begins flights around the clock, with more nuclear-armed aircraft sent to U.S. bases.

* Video (from C-SPAN): @

* Audio, transcript (from JFK Library): @

Tuesday, October 23: The Organization of American States announces its support of the U.S. actions. Cuba's armed forces are placed on their highest alert. Kennedy signs authorization of the naval quarantine.

Wednesday, October 24: The quarantine goes into effect; Soviet ships hold their position or turn back. The Strategic Air Command announces the U.S. armed forces are on DEFCON 2 alert, one level below war.

Thursday, October 25: The countries face off at the United Nations, with the U.S. demanding the USSR confirm or deny the existence of the bases, then presenting photographic evidence of the sites.

Friday, October 26: Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev sends a letter to Kennedy saying he will order the removal of the missiles if Kennedy pledges not to invade Cuba.

Saturday, October 27: A U-2 aircraft is shot down while flying over Cuba. A second U.S. surveillance aircraft flying from Alaska accidentally strays into Soviet airspace. Kennedy replies to Khrushchev's letter, agreeing to its conditions.

Sunday, October 28: The crisis ends as Khrushchev announces the withdrawal of missiles under U.N. observation. (The U.S. also agrees to remove its missiles from Turkey, though that would not be revealed until years later.)

Websites:

* John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum: @
* Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School: @

* National Security Archive: @

* Foreign Policy magazine: @
* www.nuclearfiles.org: @
* The Wilson Center: @


Summaries:
* www.history.com: @
* www.globalsecurity.org: @

Photos:
* From National Security Archive: @

"Foreign Relations of the United States" (from U.S. Department of State)

* Volume X, Cuba, January 1961 - September 1962: @

* Microfiche Supplement: @

* Volume XI, Cuban Missile Crisis and Aftermath, 1961 - 1963: @

Media reports:
* From The New York Times: @
* October 25 newsreel: @

* Life magazine (November 2): @
* Life magazine (November 9): @

Books: 

* "The Cuban Missile Crisis Revisited" (edited by James A. Nathan, 1992): @
* "Cuban Missile Crisis: The Essential Reference Guide" (edited by Priscilla Roberts, 2012): @
* "Thirteen Days" (Robert F. Kennedy, 1968): @
* "Cuba and the United States: A Chronological History" (Jane Franklin, 1997): @
* "President Kennedy: Profile of Power" (Richard Reeves, 1993): @


Other resources:
* Documents (from Avalon Project, Yale Law School): @
* Documents (from Mount Holyoke College): @
* CIA documents (from www.allworldwars.com): @
* Digital Archive, Cold War International History Project: @
* "Clouds Over Cuba" (documentary from JFK Library): @
* "The Armageddon Letters" (multimedia presentation): @
* "Learning from the Missile Crisis" (Smithsonian magazine, October 2002): @ 

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Wednesday, October 24, 1964: 'Live at the Apollo'

Singer James Brown's performance at the Apollo Theater in New York is recorded for an album that would be released in May 1963. Not only would it be a commercial success, it would be regarded as one of the best live albums ever made.

Photo from Apollo Theater Foundation.

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

* Album review (from Rolling Stone magazine): @

* Album review (from Pitchfork): @
* More about the recording (Daily Telegraph, 2003, via www.rocksbackpages.com and The Guardian): @ 
* "James Brown's 'Live at the Apollo' " (Douglas Wolk, 2004): @

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Thursday, October 18, 1962: DNA

From The Associated Press:

   STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Oct. 18 -- A young American biologist and two British scientists were jointly awarded the 1962 Nobel Prize for Medicine today for a major breakthrough into the mysteries of heredity.

   Among other things, their work gives clues to some of the fundamental secrets of life -- what makes a man a man, what are blue eyes blue. It also points toward new studies into the causes of such ailments as anemia.

   Sharing the award were Dr. James Dewey Watson, 34, of Harvard University; Dr. Francis Harry Compton Crick, 46, member of the Department of Molecular Biology at Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge, England; and Dr. Maurice Hugh Frederick Wilkins, 46, deputy director of the Biophysics Laboratory at King's College, London.

   ... Scientists have hailed the unveiling of the structure of deoxyribonucleic acid -- which is commonly known as "DNA" -- as being as revolutionary for biology as the cracking of the atom was for physics.

Photo of Watson, left, and Crick in 1953 (from Science Photo Library).

* From www.nobelprize.org: @ and @

* From Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory: @ and @

* From National Human Genome Research Institute (National Institutes of Health): @

* From Genetics Home Reference (National Library of Medicine): @
* From Chemical Heritage Foundation: @

* Read entire Associated Press article: @ 

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October 1962: Mr. ZIP

From the U.S. Postal Service website (about.usps.com):

The cartoon figure, Mr. ZIP, was adopted by the Postal Service as the trademark for the Zoning Improvement Plan or ZIP Code, which began on July 1, 1963. However, the figure originated several years earlier. It was designed ... for use by Chase Manhattan Bank in New York in a bank-by-mail campaign. ... The figure was used only a few times, then filed away. The American Telephone and Telegraph Company acquired the design and made it available to the Post Office Department without cost. The new figure, dubbed Mr. ZIP, was unveiled by the Post Office Department at a convention of postmasters in October 1962.

* "Mr. Zip and the ZIP Code Promotional Campaign" (from National Postal Museum): @

* "U.S. to ZIP mail through" (Scripps-Howard article, November 1962): @ 

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October 1962: American Folk Blues Festival

The musical revue tours Europe, bringing such performers as John Lee Hooker, T-Bone Walker and Willie Dixon to appreciative audiences. Later festivals would include Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf, among others. (Poster from October 18 show in Hamburg, Germany.)
* Listen to performances (from archive.org): @ 
* Discography: @ 
* From "Encyclopedia of the Blues" (1997): @ 
* From "Black, White and Blue: Racial Politics of Blues Music in the 196os" (Ulrich Adelt, 2007): @ 
* From "Blues Music in the Sixties: A Story in Black and White" (Adelt, 2010): @ 
* From "Changing the World, Changing Oneself: Political Protest and Collective Identities in West Germany and the U.S. in the 1960s and 1970s" (2010): @ 
* From "I Am the Blues: The Willie Dixon Story" (Willie Dixon, Don Snowden, 1990): @ 

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October 1962: 'Fail-Safe'

The novel by Eugene Burdick and Harvey Wheeler is published. The story of what happens when America's nuclear safeguards falter is serialized in The Saturday Evening Post starting with the October 13 issue, on the eve of the Cuban Missile Crisis. The book's plot is similar to "Red Alert," published in 1958. (Both books would be made into movies in 1964, "Fail-Safe" and "Dr. Strangelove," respectively.)

* "The Day the Bombers Weren't Recalled" (book review, October 23): @

* "Fail-Safe" papers from John F. Kennedy library (includes Saturday Evening Post installments, book reviews): @

* "Nuclear Fear: A History of Images" (Spencer R. Weart, 1998): @

* Excerpt from "Hollywood's White House: The American Presidency in Film and History" (2003): @

* "Nuclear Peril Movies Coming" (Associated Press article, June 1963): @ 

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Friday, October 5, 1962: 'Dr. No'

The first movie featuring British secret agent James Bond premieres in London. Based on the 1958 book by Ian Fleming, "Dr. No" Sean Connery stars as 007, a role he would play six more times.

From Associated Press writer Bob Thomas, in March 1963 (the movie was released in the United States in May 1963):

"Dr. No" introduces sleuth James Bond to the American market, and he is apt to be just as popular here as he is in his native England. Sean Connery makes a formidable figure of the Ian Fleming semihero, with his fondness for fine food, shapely dolls and danger, not necessarily in that order. This caper has Bond tracking down a demoniacal Chinese who is menacing an American moonshot from an atomic fortress in the Bahamas. It is unfortunate that the first Bond mystery should place so much emphasis on the space-age melodramatics on the mystery island. The result is more flavored with Flash Gordon or Fu Manchu. But the earlier portions of "Dr. No" display a fetching figure in Connery's bond, who will be welcome in future films of this series.

* Movie clips, including original trailer (from www.tcm.com): @

* www.007.com (official website): @
* www.007.info (James Bond International Fan Club): @
* Entry from www.screenonline.org.uk: @

* Entry from www.mi6-hq.com: @

* "The Birth of Bond" (Vanity Fair, October 2012): @

* "Licence to Thrill: A Cultural History of the James Bond Films" (James Chapman, 2000): @
* "The Politics of James Bond: From Fleming's Novels to the Big Screen" (Jeremy Black, 2005): @
* Earlier post on "From Russia With Love" (March 1961): @ 

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