Sunday, April 29, 1962: White House state dinner

Forty-nine Nobel Prize winners are guests for a state dinner at the Kennedy White House. The president's remarks include this memorable line: "I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent, of human knowledge, that has ever been gathered together at the White House, with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone." (JFK's notes on an early draft of the speech indicate that he added the Jefferson reference.)

The day before, as well as that morning, Linus Pauling -- who won the 1954 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his studies of molecular structure -- had picketed outside the White House, protesting the resumption of atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons. Nonetheless, Pauling attended the dinner.

This photo (from the JFK Library) shows the president talking to author Pearl Buck, while Mrs. Kennedy talks with poet Robert Frost.

* Full text of Kennedy remarks: @
* Associated Press story: @

* Time magazine article (May 11): @

* Summary and video clip of Linus Pauling: @

* Photo of Pauling protesting (April 28): @

* Note from Pauling on Jackie Kennedy's remark to him: @

* Photos from Corbis Images: @

* Materials from JFK Library: @

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Friday, April 27, 1962: 'Where The Boys Went'

Nearly a year and a half after the movie "Where The Boys Are" helped made Florida beaches a spring break destination for thousands of college students, the NBC network broadcasts a half-hour report about Daytona Beach. Said NBC newsman Chet Huntley: "Our crew, after spending two weeks with them, found they drank prodigious amounts of beer and danced the Twist interminably day and night. Neither of these appeals to older eyes as a particularly aesthetic activity but neither is especially shocking."

* NBC report: @

* Earlier post on "Where The Boys Are" (December 28, 1960): @

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April 1962: New York Auto Show

Among the new models presented at the International Automobile Show (held April 21-29 at the New York Coliseum) are the Shelby Cobra, the Studebaker Avanti and General Motors' XP-755 (aka the Mako Shark, a concept car and forerunner of the redesigned Corvette Sting Ray).

* "Remember the Class of '62" (from www.oldcarsweekly.com): @

* Newsreel: @

-- Shelby Cobra

* Entry from www.hemmings.com: @

* Entry from www.metaphorsinmotion.com: @

* "The Shelby Cobra at 50, an Icon of Sex and Power" (New York Times, 2012): @

-- Studebaker Avanti

* Avanti Owners Association International: @

* Entry from howstuffworks.com: @

* "Studebaker's Luxury Model Shown Today" (Associated Press, April 26, 1962): @

* Earlier entry on Avanti (March 1961): @

-- Mako Shark

* Entry from www.corvettes.nl: @

* Entry from Corvette Action Center: @

* Corvette timeline, 1956-1992 (from www.motortrend.com): @

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Wednesday, April 25, 1962: Project Highwater

From the April 25 edition of The Miami News:

A giant Saturn rocket, forerunner of the moonship launcher, set off the world's first man-made thunderstorm in space today and spewed forth an icy cloud tracked by radar from Miami.

Moon project officials were jubilant over the second perfect performance of the 162-foot, 927-pound Saturn, the world's largest known rocket, although it is still a baby in the U.S. moon program.

A spectacular slideshow was the deliberate disintegration of the rocket by dynamite 65 miles up in the ionosphere so it could released 95 tons of water into the rarefied air.

The mass of water at first vaporized rapidly and then formed a great, man-made cloud of ice visible for miles up and down the Florida coast, where clear skies permitted.

"In this cloud, electrical charges were detected," said Dr. Wernher von Braun, famed German rocket developer now in charge of the Marshall space flight center in Alabama.

"We have caused the first synthetic thunderstorm in space," von Braun said.

(Note: the newspaper article should have said that Saturn weighed 927,000 pounds, not 927.)

* NASA news release (April 22, 1962): @

* "Saturn Aids GSFC Research" (from May 4 issue of Goddard News; scroll to page 3): @

* "Saturn SA-2 Flight Evaluation" (from Marshall Space Flight Center, June 5): @

* Excerpt from "Stages to Saturn: A Technological History of the Apollo/Saturn Launch Vehicle" (1999 book by Roger E. Bilstein): @

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Undated: Barbie's Dream House

Mattel begins selling the cardboard fold-up house -- one room, complete with a closet, record albums and a photo of Ken. A print advertisement reads: Here's where Barbie lives! Her house comes with a convenient carrying handle, includes a complete suite of easy-to-assemble, modern, slim-line furniture and all the special living accessories Barbie has chosen for her home. Folds away neatly and compactly when not in use. $8.00 (Slightly higher west of the Rockies)

* Photos of this and other Barbie houses: @

* TV commercial: @

* Earlier post on introduction of Ken doll (March 1961): @

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Saturday, April 21, 1962: World's Fair

The Seattle's World Fair opens, built around the futuristic theme "Century 21."

From "The Washington Journey," a 2009 textbook for 7th-graders:

The Space Needle, now an emblem for downtown Seattle, was built for the World's Fair in 1962. The Space Needle was a symbol of the nation's space program, which was pushing hard to get a man on the moon before the Soviets did. The World's Fair was a chance to show what the future might bring in science and technology. A huge science exhibit stressed more science eduation for American students. The monorail was an example of future transportation. It still operates in downtown Seattle.

* Essay from www.historylink.org (Washington state history site): @

* www.62worldsfair.com: @

* "Seattle World's Fair: Then and Now": @

* Anniversary coverage from The Seattle Times: @

* Newsreel on fair's opening: @

* "Let's Go to the Fair" (CBS report with Walter Cronkite): @

* "Century 21 Calling" (Bell System video): @

* Time-lapse video of Space Needle construction: @

* Life magazine, February 9: @

* Life magazine, May 4: @

* "Seattle's 1962 World's Fair" (2010 book by Bill Cotter): @

* "What'll It Be Like in 2000 A.D.?" (Popular Science, April 1962): @

* "Journey to the Stars" (American Cinematographer, 1963): @

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Friday, April 20, 1962: 'Jazz Samba'

The jazz album is released on the Verve label, setting in motion the bossa nova craze in the United States. "Desafinado" becomes the album's biggest hit. (The public's interest in bossa nova would wane in late 1963-early 1964, when the album "Getz/Gilberto" and its song "The Girl From Ipanema" would bring renewed attention and appreciation.) Photo: from left, Stan Getz, Joe Byrd and Charlie Byrd.

From the May 5, 1962, issue of Billboard Music Week: Another beautiful set from tenor saxist Stan Getz. It's another highly unusual LP, following hard on the heels of his "Focus" album. This time Getz plays against a samba beat ingeniously arranged by Charlie Byrd. The arranger's provocative guitar work is also very much in evidence. It's small combo work that's alive and highly satisfying. "Baia," "Samba Dees Days" and "Samba Triste" are only a few of the magnificent tracks.

* Listen to album: @

* Album review (from allmusic.com): @

* "Blame It on the Bossa Nova: Jazz Samba's 50th Birthday" (essay by Chris McGowan, author of "The Brazilian Sound"): @

* "The Brazilian Sound" (1991 book): @

* " 'Jazz Samba,' landmark album recorded in a D.C. church, turns 50" (Washington Post, 2012): @

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Thursday, April 19, 1962: Reverse Freedom Rides

Segregationists in the South, led by the Citizens' Council of Greater New Orleans, pay for blacks to move to Northern states. The intent, said a council spokesman: "This is one way to show the colored people what the situation is in the North." The Herald Tribune News Service described it this way: "Apparently what the segregationist organization wants to do with this burgeoning send-the-Negroes north movement is not to try to depopulate New Orleans and the state of its Negro people, but to force what they feel is a showdown on the Northern integrationists, and especially the Northern 'liberals' who say they have the Negroes' interest at heart."

In the weeks that followed, the campaign would send blacks from other Southern cities to various locales, including Hyannis, Massachusetts, the summer home of President Kennedy.

The arrival in New York of the Boyd family (which had left New Orleans on April 19) was front-page news in The New York Times on April 22:

An unemployed Negro longshoreman, his wife and eight children arrived yesterday by bus from New Orleans on one-way tickets paid for by segregationists. The father found three job offers waiting. He had warm praise for the Citizens Council in New Orleans, which financed the trip to New Orleans. "They're wonderful," said Louis Boyd when he was asked about the group. It paid more than $200 for the tickets and gave him $50 to buy food on the forty-two-hour trip. ... "I am not sorry to leave the South," he said. "There is nothing there for me."

Boyd was quoted by The Associated Press as saying, "I see a lot of people working here and you don't see much of that in New Orleans."

Photo by The Associated Press. The caption reads: "Three 'Reverse Freedom Riders' left New Orleans for Concord, N.H., on one-way bus tickets bought by the New Orleans Citizens Council. They are shown with Citizens Council director George Singlemann, right, July 20, 1962 in New Orleans. The reverse Freedom Riders are, from left, Eddie Rose, Almer Payton and Willie Ramsey."

* "Reverse Freedom Rides sent African-Americans out of the South, some for good" (New Orleans Times-Picayune, May 22, 2011): @
* Excerpt from "Freedom Riders: 1961 and the Struggle for Racial Justice" (2006 book by Raymond Arsenault): @

* Excerpt from "Freedom's Main Line: The Journey of Reconciliation and the Freedom Rides" (2009 book by Derek Catsam): @
* "The Citizens' Council: Organized Resistance to the Second Reconstruction" (1994 book by Neil R. McMillen): @

-- Earlier posts

* Boynton v. Virginia (December 5, 1960): @

* Freedom Rides (May 1961): @

* Freedom Rides update (September 22, 1961): @

* Freedom Rides resources: @

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Undated: '1975: And The Changes to Come'

What's on Delhi-Television Tonight? This is the ultimate in proposed television sets for a decade hence. It can receive television signals bounced from circling satellites, bringing programs from any city on the globe. The spot of origin of the program is indicated by a light on the world map in the upper panels. Round dials are clocks showing the hour in four major time zones. Dials at right are for tuning and sound control. The set is only three inches thick. On the reverse side it is equipped with an international stereophonic radio.

That's among the predictions in "1975: And the Changes to Come," a book by Arnold B. Barach, a senior editor at Changing Times magazine. From an ad for the book in the March 1962 issue of Changing Times (later known as Kiplinger's Personal Finance):

A dramatic forecast of life in 1975, based on what's actually being developed today, and including a list of suggested investments in industries and companies most likely to prosper in the years ahead. A profusely illustrated and detailed expansion of a study originally presented in the January 1961 edition of Changing Times. More than 140 photographs and drawings of what's to come ... including charts showing business and economic growth, population increases, employment, college enrollment, and the coming shortage of doctors. ... You'll enjoy and profit from this fascinating preview of YOUR future.

Image provided by Derrick Bostrom; more selections from the book here: @

* January 1961 issue of Changing Times: @

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Monday, April 16, 1962: Walter Cronkite

Walter Cronkite delivers his first newscast as the newly named anchorman and managing editor of the 15-minute "CBS Evening News" (initially called "Walter Cronkite with the News"). His memorable sign-off, "And that's the way it is," was added soon after. Cronkite began his journalism career as a print reporter for United Press before joining CBS in 1950.

From The New York Times, April 17: "On Mr. Cronkite's premiere the background setting was materially simplified, and there was a noticeable effort to inject a lighter touch into the news copy. At the conclusion of the news program, Mr. Cronkite received billing on the screen as 'managing editor' of the presentation. The identification reflects the normal sensitivity of newscasters who exercise some voice in the editing of the news so as not to be confused with mere 'readers' of bulletins."

Cecil Smith, TV critic for the Los Angeles Times, wrote on May 24: "Cronkite is undoubtedly the No. 1 man in the CBS news stable, the celebrated anchor man of the conventions, the Khrushchev tour, presidential parlays, etc. A solid newsman with slight regard for side comment or opinion, Cronkite has built up a wide, national reputation and would seem to be the ideal man for the job."

1962 photo from Corbis Images.

* Entry from Museum of Broadcast Communications: @

* Entry from "The Encyclopedia of Television News" (1999 book): @

* "Cronkite" (Douglas Brinkley, 2012): @
* Cronkite segments on NPR: @

* Interviews from Archive of American Television: @

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April 1962: 'The Image: Or What Happened to the American Dream'

The book by professor and historian Daniel J. Boorstin is published. (It was also published under the title "The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America.")

From the book "Nixon's Shadow: The History of An Image" (David Greenberg, 2004):

Boorstin observed that the rise of mass media, including the attendant apparatuses of advertising and public relations, had helped create an alternate sham reality, where celebrities replaced heroes, credibility superseded truth, invention eclipsed discovery, and personality was vaunted over character. Coining a term that would increase in use over the years, Boorstin identified a new phenomenon he called the "pseudo-event": a staged happening that becomes not for intrinsic reasons but because those who cover the news deem it so. ... These changes undermined democratic politics, Boorstin argued. Television and media manipulation had become so pervasive that "more important than what we think of the presidential candidate is what we think of his 'public image.' "

In the book, Boorstin also originated this often-repeated line: "The celebrity is a person who is known for his well-knownness."

* Entry from "Encyclopedia of Political Communication" (2008): @

* New York Times book review (April 9, 1962): @

* Boorstin obituary (New York Times, 2004): @

* Boorstin obituary (The Guardian, 2004): @

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April 10, 1962: Stuart Sutcliffe dies

The Beatles' original bassist, 21, dies in Hamburg, Germany, of a cerebral hemorrage. He had left the band in 1961 to concentrate on his artwork.

* www.StuartSutcliffe.org: @

* www.StuartSutcliffeFanClub.com: @

* Biography from www.beatlesbible.com: @

* "A Portrait of the Bassist" (from blogcritics.org): @

* "Stuart Sutcliffe: The Lost Beatle" (BBC documentary, 2005): @ and @ and @ and @

* The Beatles (post from August 17, 1960): @

* In Litherland (post from December 27, 1960): @

* At the Cavern Club (post from February 9, 1961): @

* Brian Epstein (post from January 24, 1962): @

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Undated: Harvard Psilocybin Project

Headed by Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert of Harvard's Department of Psychology, the project ends its work amid concerns by other faculty members and investigations by authorities into the use (or suspected misuse) of psilocybin. As part of Leary's and Alpert's research, psychedelics had been administered to students and prisoners.

* Entry from Harvard's psychology department: @

* "The Strange Case of the Harvard Drug Scandal" (Look magazine, November 5, 1963): @

* Letter from Leary and Alpert to Harvard Crimson (December 13, 1962): @

* "Timothy Leary and Havard, Reunited At Last" (from Timothy Leary Archives): @
* "Dr. Leary's Concord Prison Experiment: A 34-Year Follow-Up Study" (from Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 1998): @ and @

* "The Good Friday Marsh Chapel Experiment" (1994, St. Petersburg Times): @

* The Harvard Psychedelic Club: How Timothy Leary, Ram Dass, Huston Smith, and Andrew Weil Killed the Fifties and Ushered in a New Age for America" (2011 book by Don Lattin): @

* Talk by Lattin (from www.c-spanvideo.org): @

* "Acid Dreams: The Complete Social History of LSD: The CIA, the Sixties, and Beyond" (1992 book by Martin A. Lee and Bruce Shlain): @

* "Storming Heaven: LSD & The American Dream" (1998 book by Jay Stevens): @

* Earlier post on Leary (August 9, 1960): @

* Earlier post on Leary (August 18, 1961): @

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April 1962: 'Young Idea Goes West'

The April 1962 issue of British Vogue magazine features photos of English model Jean Shrimpton, taken by David Bailey. The photo spread, called "Young Idea Goes West," was shot in New York in January; it was heralded as changing the course of fashion photography as well as typifying a more youthful popular culture.

* Entry from onthisdayinfashion.com: @

* From www.radiotimes.com: @

* "Two Take Manhattan" (2007 article from The Guardian newspaper): @

* "Style file -- Jean Shrimpton" (from www.vogue.co.uk): @

* "Icon: David Bailey" (from www.gq-magazine.co.uk): @

* Excerpt from "Body Dressing" (2001 book by Joanne Entwistle and Elizabeth Wilson): @

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April 1962: Chronic sorrow

The term is introduced and the condition explained by Simon Olshansky in the article "Chronic Sorrow: A Response to Having a Mentally Defective Child," which appeared in the April 1962 edition of Social Casework.

From www.medscape.com:

Olshansky, a counselor to parents of handicapped children, described the normal pervasive psychological response in the suffering of parents dealing with mentally disabled children. He observed that parents of children with mental retardation may suffer from chronic sorrow throughout their lives as a reaction to both the loss of the expectations they had for the perfect child and the day-to-day reminders of dependency. He also encouraged professionals to recognize chronic sorrow as a natural response to a tragic situation in order to assist parents in achieving greater comfort living with and managing a child with a mental disability.

From "Handbook of Nursing Diagnosis" (2009 book by Lynda Juall Carpenito-Moyet):

Chronic sorrow is different from grieving. Grieving is time-limited and ends in adaptation to the loss. Chronic sorrow will vary in intensity, but persists as long as the person with the disability or chronic sorrow condition lives. Chronic sorrow can also occur in an individual with a chronic disease that regularly impairs the person's ability to live a "normal life" (e.g. paraplegic, AIDS, sickle cell disease).

* Entry from "Encyclopedia of Death and the Human Experience" (2009 book by Clifton D. Bryant and Dennis L. Peck): @

* Entry from "Middle Range Theories: Application to Nursing Research" (2008 book by Sandra J. Peterson and Timothy S. Bredow): @

* Excerpts from "Chronic Sorrow: A Living Loss" (2002 book by Susan Roos): @

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April 1962: 'Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music'

The album by Ray Charles is released by ABC-Paramount Records. An influential mix of musical genres, its most popular single would be "I Can't Stop Loving You."

From the March 21 issue of Billboard Music Week, under the section "Spotlight Albums of the Week":

This is one of the most intriguing albums in a long time -- the great Ray Charles doing great hillbilly songs against a jazz-oriented big bang with arrangements by Marty Paich, Gerald Wilson and Gil Fuller. The concept is wonderful, and the sides include Hank Williams' "You Win Again," the Eddy Arnold hit "You Don't Know Me," and the Davis-Duffen "Worried Mind. In addition toe being powerful dealer material, this package will fracture knowledgable jockeys who will find it in a wealth of material to talk about as well as play.

* Summary from "100 Greatest Albums" (2003 book by Jacob Hoye): @

* The making of the album (from the video podcast series, "Ray Charles, Genius"): @

* "Ray Charles: The Birth of Soul" (2007 book by Mike Evans): @

* "Ray Charles: Man and Music:" (2004 book by Michael Lydon): @

* raycharles.com: @

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