March-April, 1964: Malcolm X

Sunday, March 8

Malcolm X, outspoken Black Muslim advocate of racial separation, has defected from the parent organization to form his own mosque to promote "active self-defense against white separatists in all part of the country."

     -- Associated Press, March 9 (link to story: @)

* "Malcolm X Tells Of Breaks With Clay" (Chicago Daily News Service, March 22): @

* Excerpt from "History of American Political Thought" (2003): @

* Excerpt from "Malcolm X: The FBI File" (Clayborn Carson, 2012): @

Thursday, March 26

Malcolm and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. meet for the first and only time. Both men were in Washington to hear debate on civil rights legislation.

-- Photo by Marion S. Trikosko, U.S. News & World Report; from Library of Congress collection

* Excerpt from "Malcolm & Martin & America: A Dream or a Nightmare" (James H. Cone, 1991): @

* "The Unfinished Dialogue of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X" (Clayborn Carson, 2005): @

* "Negro Plans New Form of Protests" (Associated Press, March 26): @

* Earlier post on "The Negro and the American Promise" (June 24, 1963): @

Friday, April 3 and Sunday, April 12

Gives "The Ballot or the Bullet" speeches in Cleveland and Detroit.
     Many took from the speech only the message of violence; he had recently promoted the formation of "rifle clubs: and reiterated that blacks were constitutionally within their rights to defend themselves and their property if the goverment failed to do so. However, what had changed dramatically from years past and the rhetoric of the Nation of Islam was the possibility for reform through voting.
     --- From "The Portable Malcolm X Reader" (Manning Marable and Garrett Felber, 2013): @
* Transcript of April 3 speech (from TeachingAmericanHistory.org): @

* Transcript of April 12 speech (from "Say It Loud! Great Speeches on Civil Rights and African American Identity" (2013): @

* Audio of April 12 speech: @

* "Use Bullets To Get Ballot, Malcolm X Tells Negroes" (Associated Press, March 22): @

* Earlier post on "Message to the Grass Roots" (November 10, 1963): @ 

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Thursday, March 19, 1964: Vietnam

This and other images from South Vietnam earned Associated Press photographer Horst Faas the Pulitzer Prize in 1965. The caption, as it appeared in the Milwaukee Sentinel on March 20: 

The body of a child killed in battle Thursday in South Vietnam was held by his father as rangers of the Vietnamese army looked down from a tank. The child was killed as government forces pursued Vietcong guerrillas into a village near the Cambodian border. The Vietnamese forces used bombers and armored personnel carriers against the guerrilla forces in the battle.

     -- AP Wirephoto by Horst Faas via cable from Saigon

* Faas' photos for Associated Press (from AP Images): @

* Obituary (from AP; May 10, 2012): @

* "Horst Faas: A Last Hurrah" (Richard Pyle for The New York Times): @ 

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Friday, March 13, 1964: Kitty Genovese

On March 13, 1964, a 28-year-old woman named Catherine "Kitty" Genovese was raped and killed in two separate late-night attacks near her home in Kew Gardens, Queens. Police found that at least 38 people had seen the attacks or heard Genovese scream, but no one intervened and just one woman called the police.
     The story was barely reported until two weeks later, when Martin Gansberg covered it in vivid detail in The New York Times ... Gansberg detailed why some of the witnesses hadn't acted. One said that he "didn't want to get involved," while another said, "without emotion," according to Gansberg, "I was tired. I went back to bed."
     The article ignited outrage against the 38 residents. Pundits proclaimed that it was an example of society's moral decay ... Psychologists coined the term "Genovese syndrome" to explain why people are less likely to act in an emergency if others are present.
     The Kitty Genovese episode became infamous, but later examination found that Gansberg had exaggerated details and presented a misleading perspective of the witnesses' actions. All but one of the witnesses likely saw or heard only the first attack, after which Genovese walked away, giving the impression that she was all right. The second attack took place out of view of most people. Only one man saw the attack. He told another woman to call the police, but it was too late to save Genovese.
     -- From The Learning Network, New York Times (link: @)

     -- Photo from The Saturday Evening Post (link to story: @)

* New York Times story, March 27, 1964: @ (Note: The headline as printed was "37 Who Saw Murder Didn't Call the Police / Apathy at Stabbing of Queens Woman Shocks Inspector")
* "The Detached Americans" (Carousel Films, 1964): @
* "Kitty, 40 Years Later" (Jim Rasenberger, New York Times, February 2004): @
* "Nightmare On Austin Street" (Rasenberger, American Heritage, 2006): @
* "The Kitty Genovese Murder and the Social Psychology of Helping" (Rachel Manning, Mark Levine and Alan Collins, American Psychologist, September 2007): @
* "Debunking the myth of Kitty Genovese" (Larry Getlen, New York Post, February 2014): @
* "A Call For Help: What the Kitty Genovese story really means" (Nicholas Lemann, The New Yorker, March 2014): @

* "Kitty Genovese: The Murder, the Bystanders, the Crime That Changed America" (Kevin Cook, 2014): @
* "Fifty Years After Kitty Genovese: Inside The Case That Rocked Our Faith in Each Other" (Albert A. Seedman and Peter Hellman, 2014): @

* "Kitty Genovese: A True Account of a Public Murder and Its Private Consequences" (Catherine Pelonero, 2014): @ 

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Thursday, March 12, 1964: New Hampshire lottery

They're off and running in the New Hampshire sweepstakes, the nation's only state-sponsored lottery in the 20th Century. Tickets went on sale at Rockingham Park race track last night and some 3,600, including Gov. John W. King, paid $3 for a chance to win $100,000.

     -- Associated Press, March 13 (link to story: @)

* "Gambling For The Yankee Dollar" (Sports Illustrated, March 30): @

* "New Hampshire Lottery Drum Yields First Racing Tickets" (Associated Press, July 15): @

* "Big Draw In A Little State" (Sports Illustrated, July 27): @

* "Sweepstakes Copped by Roman Brother" (Associated Press, September 13): @

* "Roman Brother Wins New Hampshire Sweepstakes" (newsreel): @

* "The $100,000 Finish in First U.S. Sweeps" (Life magazine, September 25): @

* "New Hampshire Sweepstakes: Early Returns Are Indecisive" (Associated Press, December 13): @

* New Hampshire Lottery history (from www.nhlottery.com): @

* Lottery timeline (from North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries): @ 

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Monday, March 9, 1964: New York Times v. Sullivan

Background: In 1960, The New York Times ran a full-page advertisement paid for by civil rights activists. The ad openly criticized the police department in the city of Montgomery, Alabama, for its treatment of civil rights protestors. Most of the descriptions in the ad were accurate, but some of the statements were false. The police commissioner, L.B. Sullivan, took offense to the ad and sued The New York Times in an Alabama court. Sullivan argued that the ad had damaged his reputation, and he had been libeled. The Alabama court ruled in favor of Sullivan, finding that the newspaper ad falsely represented the police department and Sullivan. After losing an appeal in the Supreme Court of Alabama, The New York Times took its case to the United States Supreme Court, arguing that the ad was not meant to hurt Sullivan's reputation and was protected under the First Amendment.

Decision: The United States Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of the newspaper. The Court said the right to publish all statements is published under the First Amendment. The Court also said in order to prove libel, a public official must show that was was said against them was made with actual malice -- that is, with knowledge that it was false or with "reckless disregard" for the truth.
     -- from www.uscourts.gov (link: @)

* Summary from Bill of Rights Institute: @

* Summary from Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute): @
* Text of decision (from Legal Information Institute): @
* Listen to oral arguments (from The Oyez Project): @
* "Malice Must Be Proved In Libel" (Associated Press, March 10): @
* "Libel Ruling Expected to Ease Job of Press" (Milwaukee Journal, March 10): @
* "Make No Law: The Sullivan Case and the First Amendment" (Anthony Lewis, 1991): @
* Image of "Heed Their Rising Voices" ad (from "Records of Rights," National Archives): @
* "Heed Their Rising Voices" (blog post, March 29, 1960): @

* "Memorandum for Conference with L.B. Sullivan" (attorney Ronald Nachman; from Alabama Department of Archives and History): @

* First Amendment cases (from www.uscourts.gov): @ 

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Monday, March 9, 1964: G.I. Joe

Hasbro introduces "America's Movable Fighting Man" at the American Toy Fair in New York. The "action figure" was on store shelves and in catalogs for the Christmas season.

-- Image from 1964 Sears Christmas catalog, courtesy of gijoe.ebcutler.com; link below. 

Note: The date of the toy's introduction is a matter of some debate; several resources say it was February 9. Lacking any evidence to the contrary, I'm going with March 9, based on the toy fair opening that day.

* Summary from Collectors Weekly: @

* "The GI Joe Story" (Toy Collector magazine, Page 67; June 2007): @

* "Macho in Miniature" (Smithsonian magazine, August 2002): @

* "The secret history of G.I. Joe" (Tom Engelhardt, August 2013): @

* "From Vietnam to the New World Order: The G.I. Joe Action Figure as Cold War Artifact" (Roger Chapman, Studies in The Social Sciences, Page 47; May 1999): @

* The Beachhead (G.I. Joe site): @

* G.I. Joe Collectors' Club: @

* "Toy Figure Having Movable Joints" (from Google Patents): @

* 1960s Christmas catalogs (from GIJoe.ebcutler.com): @

* "Visions of Christmas Sales Captivate Toy Buyers" (New York Times, March 10, 1964; subscription required): @ 
* "Military Toys Come Under Fire" (Herald Tribune News Service, March 11): @
* "Toy makers accept stronger code guides" (Broadcasting magazine, Page 52, March 16): @
* "Toy Wars: The Epic Struggle Between G.I. Joe, Barbie, and the Companies That Make Them" (G. Wayne Miller, 1998): @
* "G.I. Joe: The Complete Story of America's Favorite Man of Action" (John Michlig, 1998): @

* "Warman's G.I. Joe Field Guide: Values and Identification" (KP Books, 2005): @ 

* Promotional film shown to buyers at toy fair: @  

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1964: '.30 Bullet Piercing an Apple'

This startling image first illustrated a lecture by Harold "Doc" Edgerton entitled "How to Make Applesauce at MIT." Moments after the apple in pierced by the .30-caliber bullet, it disentegrates completely. What is so surprising is that the entry of the supersonic bullet is as visually explosive as the exit. The duration of the flash in this photo is about 1/3 microseconds. The amount of light given off is small enough that the exposure must be made in total darkness. To trigger the flash at the proper moment, a microphone, placed a little before the apple, picks up the sound from this rifle shot, relays it through an electronic relay circuit, and then fires the microflash.

     -- From Edgerton Digital Collections project, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (link: @)

* More Edgerton photos (From Los Angeles County Museum of Art): @

* More Edgerton photos (from MIT Museum; click on "Harold E. Edgerton"): @

* MIT Edgerton Center: @

* Edgerton obituary (New York Times, January 1990): @

* Biographical memoir (National Academy of Sciences, 2005): @

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Wednesday, March 4, 1964: Jimmy Hoffa

CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee -- James R. Hoffa, president of the Teamsters Union, was convicted today on two charges of seeking to fix the jury which tried him on a conspiracy charge in 1962.

     -- Associated Press (link: @)

     -- Photo from Hoffa's sentencing on March 12; from Corbis Images

* "Hoffa Found Guilty of Jury Tampering" (Milwaukee Journal, March 4): @

* "Hoffa in Defeat: We'll Appeal" (Associated Press, March 5): @

* "Jimmy Hoffa Sentenced for Jury Tampering" (from Finding Dulcinea): @

* "Hoffa: How They Nailed Him" (Life magazine, March 13): @

* Biography (from www.biography.com): @

* "The Disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa" (from www.crimelibrary.com): @

* "The Hoffa Wars: The Rise and Fall of Jimmy Hoffa" (Dan E. Moldea, 1993): @ 

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February 1964: Pierre Brassau

A 4 1/2-year-old chimpanzee namd Peter lives in an animal park in Goteborg, Sweden. Last fall a couple of newspapermen on the Goteborgs-Tidningen got the idea that maybe Peter could paint pictures. On the sly, they gave the chimp a palette, paints, brushes and canvas, and Peter promptly set to work. Recently the newspapermen picked out four of Peter's better paintings and slipped them into a local art show to see what the critics would say. The paintings were signed Pierre Brassau, who was described as an unknown French painter. The critics fell for the monkey business, especially Rolf Anderberg of the morning Posten, who wrote rapturously: "Pierre Brassau paints with powerful strokes but also with clear determination. His brush strokes twist with a furious fastidiousness on the canvas." Critic Anderberg then went on to compare Pierre with another painter in the show. The other painter, Anderberg wrote, was ponderous but "Pierre is an artist who performs with the delicacy of a ballet dancer." When the hoax was revealed, Anderberg was bitter. He insisted that Pierre's work was "still the best painting in the exhibition." He may be right. A private collector bought one canvas for $90.

     -- "Monkey Business," Sports Illustrated, February 24, 1964

* Summary from The Museum of Hoaxes: @

* Winners of 2013 Chimpanzee Art Contest (from The Humane Society of the United States): @ 

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Tuesday, February 25, 1964: Cassius Clay

Jabbing, jabbering Cassius Clay ruled as heavyweight champion of the world today in an unbelievable upset at Miami Beach because of one punch -- and he didn't even throw it. Sonny Liston, the supposedly unconquerable "killer," threw the punch and when it missed the follow-through, twisted a tendon in his massive left shoulder.

     -- The Miami News (link: @)

Tuesday night was the night that was for Cassius Clay. He became heavyweight boxing champion of the world -- just like he said he would. He didn't do it so much with his fists, or his fast talk for which he is noted, but with an "injury" to his opponent, Charles "Sonny" Liston. 

     -- United Press International (link: @)

Cassius Clay, a 7-1 longshot, scored one of the major upsets in boxing history Tuesday night when Sonny Liston gave up the world heavyweight title in his corner because of a strained left shoulder.

     -- Associated Press (link: @)

Incredibly, the loud-mouthed bragging, insulting youngster had been telling the truth all along. Cassius Clay won the world heavyweight title tonight when a bleeding Sonny Liston, his left shoulder injured, was unable to answer the bell for the seventh round.
     -- The New York Times (link to PDF: @)

Like the Lord High Executioner getting ready for another payday, Sonny Liston fixed a fresh victim with his famous full-whammy stare. Cassius Clay didn't pay much attention. Taunting, jabbing and above all, staying out of range of the champ's left hook, Clay simply kept his mind on proving that, as he had so often noted, "I am the greatest!"
     -- Life magazine (March 6; link: @)

There is no terror, Cassius, in your threats.
-- Julius Caesar, Act IV, Scene 3
     But there was. In Miami Beach last week, Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. acted out a scene that was worthy of the Old Bard himself -- or maybe P.T. Barnum. Just as he said he would, he took the heavyweight championship of the world away from Charles ("Sonny") Liston, thereby proving that the mouth is faster than the eye.
     -- Time magazine (March 6; subscription-only link: @)

It was, no matter what you have read or heard, an enormously exciting fight. It matched the classic contenders for a heavyweight championship of the world -- a beautiful, controlled boxer against a man who could hit with deadly power. The fight -- Clay against Liston -- restored balance and intelligence to the concept of boxing. The boxer, using his skills with aplomb and courage and forethought, confounded and defeated the slugger.
     -- Sports Illustrated magazine (March 9; link: @)

The February 25 midnight "Victory Party" planned for Sonny Liston at Miami Beach's luxurious Fontainebleau Hotel was canceled due to the lack of a guest of honor. 
     -- Jet magazine (March 12; link: @)

     -- Photo by Associated Press

January 27
"Fighter Cassius Clay Has Keen Interest in Muslims" (New York Herald Tribune): @

February 28
"Cassius Clay Admits Adoption of Black Muslim Membership" (Associated Press): @

"Cassius Clay Admits He's a Black Muslim" (Associated Press): @
"Clay Admits Joining Black Muslims Sect" (United Press International): @

March 7
Elijah Muhammad, leader of the Black Muslims, Friday night bestowed upon heavyweight champion Cassius Clay the name "Muhammad Ali." (Associated Press): @

* Video of fight: @
* Excerpt from "Bert Sugar on Boxing" (2003): @
* "Ali and Liston: The Boy Who Would Be King and the Ugly Bear" (Bob Mee, 2011): @
* "The Devil and Sonny Liston" (Nick Tosches, 2000): @ 

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Thursday, February 13, 1964: Hand transplant

     A surgical "first" at this time of hope was carried out in February 1964 at the Clinica Guayaquil, Ecuador, on a soldier who lost a hand after a grenade accident. The prolonged operation using a hand from a cadaveric donor was apparently technically successful, and the immunosuppression was monitored with the help of advice via telephone from Richard Wilson of the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston. Wilson then traveled to Ecuador and, after assessing the situation, transferred the patient to Boston, but twenty-one days after the transplant, rejection forced removal of the hand.

     -- From "A History of Organ Transplantation" (David Hamilton, 2012)

* "First Transplant of Human Limb Works" (United Press International, February 25, 1964): @

* "Dr. Wilson Consults on History-Making Homograft" (The Townsman, Wellesley, Massachusetts, February 27): @

* "A new option for amputees: Transplantation of the hand" (Christina L. Kaufman et al; from Journal of Rehabilitation Research & Development, 2009): @

* "History and Ethics of Hand Transplants" (Michael Errico et al; from Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, October 2012): @

* "Hand transplantation" (Bardia Amirlak et al; from Medscape): @

* www.handtransplant.com: @

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Febuary 7-9, 1964: The Beatles in America

February 7
     Multiply Elvis Presley by four, subtract six years from his age, add British accents and a sharp sense of humor. The answer: It's the Beatles (Yeah, Yeah, Yeah). The rock 'n' roll group, which may become Britain's most successful export since the bowler, arrived at Kennedy International Airport yesterday and more than 3,000 teen-agers stood four deep on the upper arcade at the International Arrivals Building to greet them. (The New York Times, February 8; link: @) 
     -- Photo by Harry Benson

* "Four Screaming Mopheads Break Up England: Here Come Those Beatles" (Life magazine, January 31): @
* Video excerpts from press conference: @ 
* Press conference transcript (from www.beatlesinterviews.org): @ 
* "Beatle Hysteria Hits US" (The Guardian, February 8): @

* "The Beatles' American Invasion Begins" (from The Beatles Bible): @
* "Turn Left at Greenland Or How The Beatles Came to America" (Bruce Spizer, 2006, from www.beatlesagain.com): @ 

* Newsreel (from Critical Past): @
* Same newsreel (with British voice-over; from British Pathe): @

February 9
     The Beatles -- four British lads who sing when they are not busy running away from barbers -- made their American television debut tonight -- and some things may never be the same. (Associated Press, February 9; link: @)
     -- Photos by CBS

* Video (from Jukebo.com): @
* "Screaming Teen-Age Fans Almost Outdo British Singers in Dramatic Capers" (AP, February 10): @
* "Boys With Shaggy Heads Found Boring by Critic" (United Press International, February 10): @

* "U.S. Rocks & Reels from Beatles' Invasion" (Billboard, February 15): @

* "The Unbarbershopped Quartet" (Time, February 21; image from www.beatlefan.net): @

* "Bugs About Beatles" (Newsweek cover story, February 24; image from www.beatlefan.net): @

* "Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Music's Gold Bugs: The Beatles" (Al Aronowitz, Saturday Evening Post, March 21): @
*"Beatles: The Day They Hit U.S.A." (AP, February 1984): @ 
* "The Beatles' First Ed Sullivan Show" (from The Beatles Bible): @
* "The Story Behind The Beatles on Ed Sullivan" (Bruce Spizer, 2006, from www.beatlesagain.com): @

* "Beatles in America" (from The Pop History Dig): @

* "The Beatles' U.S. Invasion" (CBS News): @ 
* "All-Time Television Rankings" (2004; from www.thefab40.com): @ 

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Friday, February 7, 1964: Byron De La Beckwith mistrial

An all-white jury was unable to reach a decision Friday after trying for 11 hours to decide if Byron De La Beckwith assassinated Negro leader Medgar Evers and a mistrial was declared. 
     -- United Press International; full story: @
     
     -- Photo from Corbis Images. Caption reads: Jackson, Mississippi: Byron De La Beckwith, 43, went on trial here early January 27 for the ambush slaying last year of Negro leader Medgar Evers. Sheriff Fred Pickett, recalling the racial bitterness in the city after the slaying, has placed heavy security on trial arrangements. This photo was made last June as Beckwith was taken to the State Mental Hospital at Whitfield for tests. No pictures will be made during the trial of him.

* "Mistrial Declared in Beckwith Case" (UPI, February 7): @
* "Beckwith Case Ruled Mistrial" (Associated Press, February 7): @

* Earlier post on the death of Medgar Evers (June 12, 1963): @ 

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Tuesday, February 4, 1964: Drinking and driving

"The Role of the Drinking Driver in Traffic Accidents," also known as the Grand Rapids Study, is published by Robert F. Borkenstein et al. for Indiana University's Department of Police Administration. A summary of its findings, from "Alcohol and Road Accidents" (Australia Legislative Council, 1970; link: @):

The probability of accident involvement increases rapidly at alcohol levels over .08 percent and becomes extremely high at levels over .15 percent. ... Drivers with an alcohol level of .06 percent have an estimated probability of causing an accident double that of a sober driver. Drivers with .10 percent B.A.L. are from six to seven times as likely to cause an accident as one with .00 percent alcohol level. When the .15 percent alcohol level is reached, the probability of causing an accident is estimated at more than 25 times the probability for that of a sober driver.

* Robert F. Borkenstein papers, Indiana University (follow link to see entire study): @

* "Professor Robert F. Borkenstein -- An Appreciation of His Life and Work" (from The Robert F. Borkenstein Course, Center for Studies of Law in Action, Indiana University): @

* "Grand Rapids Effects Revisited: Accidents, Alcohol and Risk" (Kruger et al., 1995, from Schaffer Library of Drug Policy): @

* "Driver Characteristics and Impairment at Various BACs" (from National Highway Traffic Safety Administration): @
* "Alcohol-Related Morbidity and Mortality" (from National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 2003): @ 

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