Monday, March 30, 1964: 'Jeopardy!'

Premiering in 1964 in a daytime slot on NBC, "Jeopardy!" was one of the first quiz shows to reintroduce factual knowledge, including knowledge of sports and entertainment trivia as well as the arts, literature, and science, as the main source of questions. Seemingly reversing the logic of the big money quiz shows of the 1950s (e.g., "The 64,000 Question," "Twenty-One"), producer Merv Griffin introduced a format in which the answers for questions are revealed and the contestants must phrase their response in the form of a question.

-- From "Encyclopedia of Television" (2013; link: @)

* "Fleming Hosts Show; Rewards For Questions That Fit Answers" (March 27, 1964): @

* "How Merv Griffin Came Up With That Weird Question/Answer Format For 'Jeopardy!' (Smithsonian magazine, March 2014): @

* "Rules of the Game: Quiz Shows and American Culture" (Olaf Hoerschelmann, 2006): @

* " 'Jeopardy!' and Philosophy: What is Knowledge in the Form of a Question?" (Shaun P. Young, 2012): @ 

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Saturday, March 28, 1964: Radio Caroline

The brainchild of Ronan O'Rahilly, the first of the UK pirate radio stations of the 1960s, and extremely important in the development of UK postwar radio. Radio Caroline, "your all-day music station" for younger listeners, first broadcast from a ship moored off the coast of Felixstowe, Suffolk. By playing what the British Broadcasting Corporation did not, the station shaped the music radio revolution that led to the creation of BBC's Radio 1 and ultimately, the launch of commercial radio in the UK in 1973. 
-- From "The A to Z of British Radio" (Sean Street, 2009): @

-- Photo from www.jingleweb.nl (link: @)

* "Pirate Radio Stations" entry from "Encyclopedia of Radio" (2004): @

* Excerpt from "Working Class Heroes: Rock Music and British Society in the 1960s and 1970s" (David Simonelli, 2013): @
* "British Pirate Radio" entry from "Pop Song Piracy: Disobedient Music Distribution Since 1929" (Berry Kernfeld, 2011): @

* History (from Offshore Echos): @

* Website of Radio Caroline: @

* Website of Ray Clark (Radio Caroline disc jockey): @

* "I Love Caroline on 199" (1965 documentary by Paul O'Dell): @

* "The Radio Caroline Story" (1965 documentary by Paul Kramer): @
* How a radio ship and 7 men shook up Britain in 1964" (from Flashes & Flames): @

* Horizon magazine: @

* The Pirate Radio Hall of Fame: @

* 1964 survey on Radio Caroline audience (from The National Archives): @

* "Selling the Sixties: The Pirates and Pop Music Radio" (Robert Chapman, 1992): @

* "The Ship That Rocked the World" (Tom Lodge, 2010): @

* "Death of a Pirate: British Radio and the Making of the Information Age" (Adrian Johns, 2011): @ 

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Friday, March 27, 1964: Alaska earthquake

A devastating earthquake spread death and destruction through half a dozen Alaska cities Friday night. The shock set up tidal waves which swept down the west coast of the continent, doing heavy damage and taking more lives. The death toll could reach into the hundreds. There was no way to assess the number of dead and injured immediately.

-- Associated Press (link to Vancouver Sun, March 28: @)

-- Photo from U.S. Army. Caption: "Collapse of Fourth Avenue near C Street in Anchorage due to a landslide caused by the earthquake. Before the shock, the sidewalk on the left, which is in the graben, was at street level on the right. The graben subsided 11 feet in response to 14 feet of horizontal movement."

Note: The earthquake, which measured 9.2 on the Richter scale, killed 131 people -- 116 in Alaska and 15 in Oregon and California (according to the Alaska Earthquake Information Center, linked below).

* Vancouver Sun, March 30: @

* "Great Alaska Earthquake of 1964" (University of Alaska Anchorage): @

* "The Great Alaska Earthquake and Tsunami of March 27, 1964" (U.S. Geological Survey): @

* "Historic Reports Reissued for Great Alaska Quake 50th Anniversary" (USGS): @

* "50th Anniversary of the 1964 Earthquake" (Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs): @

* "The Great Alaska Earthquake of 1964" (Alaska Earthquake Information Center): @

* "Great Alaskan Earthquake and Tsunami: Alaska, March 1964" (Popular Mechanics, 2007): @

* "Benchmarks -- March 27, 1964: The Good Friday Alaska Earthquake and Tsunamis" (EARTH magazine, 2014): @

* Anchorage Museum exhibit: @

* Photos, USGS: @

* Photos, Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs: @

* Footage (Alaska Film Archives): @

* Video (USGS): @ 

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Thursday, March 26, 1964: Floyd James Thompson

An Air Force observation plane flown by Captain Richard L. Whitesides and by U.S. Army Special Forces co-pilot Captain Floyd J. Thompson is downed by small arms fire. Thompson, the longest held prisoner of war in American history, would not be released until 16 March 1973. 

-- From Vietnam War Commemoration (U.S. Department of Defense; link: @)

-- Photo from POW Network (link: @)

* Summary (from Task Force Omega): @

* Summary (from Veteran Tributes): @

* "Glory Denied: The Vietnam Saga of Jim Thompson, America's Longest-Held Prisoner of War" (Tom Philpott, 2001): @

* C-SPAN interview with Philpott (August 2001): @

* Obituary/tribute (Philpott, 2002; entered into Congressional Record): @

* Obituary (from New York Times, July 2002): @

* Obituary (from Los Angeles Times): @ 

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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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