News of the Times 1961 - 1964

 

1961 Highlights

U.S. breaks diplomatic relations with Cuba (Jan. 3).

Robert Frost recites “The Gift Outright” at John F. Kennedy's inauguration as president of U.S. (Jan. 20).

Moscow announces putting first man in orbit around Earth, Maj. Yuri A. Gagarin (April 12).

Cuba invaded at Bay of Pigs by an estimated 1,200 anti-Castro exiles aided by U.S.; invasion crushed (April 17).

First U.S. spaceman, Navy Cmdr. Alan B. Shepard, Jr., rockets 116.5 miles up in 302-mile trip (May 5).

Virgil Grissom becomes second American astronaut, making 118-mile-high, 303-mile-long rocket flight over Atlantic (July 21).
 
Gherman Stepanovich Titov is launched in Soviet spaceship Vostok II: makes 171/2 orbits in 25 hours, covering 434,960 miles before landing safely .

(Aug. 6). East Germans erect Berlin Wall between East and West Berlin to halt flood of refugees (Aug. 13).

USSR fires 50-megaton hydrogen bomb, biggest explosion in history (Oct. 29).

There are 2,000 U.S. military advisers in South Vietnam.

 

1962 Highlights

 

Lt. Col. John H. Glenn, Jr., is first American to orbit Earth—three times in 4 hr 55 min (Feb. 20).

France transfers sovereignty to new republic of Algeria (July 3).
 
Cuban missile crisis - USSR to build missile bases in Cuba; Kennedy orders Cuban blockade, lifts blockade after Russians back down.
 
(Aug.– Nov.). James H. Meredith, escorted by federal marshals, registers at University of Mississippi (Oct. 1).
 
Pope John XXIII opens Second Vatican Council (Oct. 11) -Council holds four sessions, finally closing Dec. 8, 1965.

Cuba releases 1,113 prisoners of 1961 invasion attempt (Dec. 24).
Burundi, Jamaica, Western Samoa, Uganda, and Trinidad and Tobago become independent.

William Faulkner wins Pulitzer for The Reivers.

Rachel Carson's Silent Spring.

 

1963 Highlights

 
France and West Germany sign treaty of cooperation ending four centuries of conflict (Jan. 22).

Michael E. De Bakey implants artificial heart in human for first time at Houston hospital; plastic device functions and patient lives for four days (April 21).

Pope John XXIII dies (June 3)—succeeded June 21 by Cardinal Montini, who becomes Paul VI.
 
U.S. Supreme Court rules no locality may require recitation of Lord's Prayer or Bible verses in public schools (June 17).

U.K.'s Profumo scandal (June).

Civil rights rally held by 200,000 blacks and whites in Washington, D.C.; Martin Luther King delivers “I have a dream” speech (Aug. 28).

Washington-to-Moscow “hot line” communications link opens, designed to reduce risk of accidental war (Aug. 30).
 
President Kennedy shot and killed by sniper in Dallas, Tex. Lyndon B. Johnson becomes president same day (Nov. 22).
 
Lee Harvey Oswald, accused assassin of President Kennedy, is shot and killed by Jack Ruby, Dallas nightclub owner (Nov. 24).
 
Kenya achieves independence. Betty Friedan publishes The Feminine Mystique.
 
There are 15,000 U.S. military advisers in South Vietnam.

 

1964 Highlights

 
U.S. Supreme Court rules that congressional districts should be roughly equal in population (Feb. 17).

Jack Ruby convicted of murder in slaying of Lee Harvey Oswald; sentenced to death by Dallas jury (March 14)—conviction reversed Oct. 5, 1966; Ruby dies Jan. 3, 1967, before second trial can be held.
 
Three civil rights workers—Schwerner, Goodman, and Cheney—murdered in Mississippi (June).
 
Twenty-one arrests result in trial and conviction of seven by federal jury.

Nelson Mandela sentenced to life imprisonment (June 11).

Congress approves Gulf of Tonkin resolution (Aug. 7).

President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy issues Warren Report concluding that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone.
 
The Beatles appear on The Ed Sullivan Show.

Source:  Infoplease.com