1960s Timeline

Dec. 31, 1961 - Aided by a build-up in U.S. military support, South Vietnam is preparing a strong counter-offensive against Communist...

Dec. 31, 1961 - President Kennedy and Premier Khrushchev, in an exchange of New Year’s greetings made public today, assured each other of...

Dec. 30, 1961 - A United States Army specialist kidnapped by Communist guerrillas on Christmas Day is alive, reliable sources said today....

Dec. 29, 1961 - American military personnel in South Vietnam were instructed today to stay within the Saigon (pictured) city limits....

Dec. 29, 1961 - Mrs. Edith Wilson (pictured in 1915), the former First Lady, died last night at the stately Washington townhouse that...

Dec. 28, 1961 - A United States Army sergeant is believed to have been kidnapped by the Viet Cong (pictured), as the Communist guerrillas...

Dec. 27, 1961 - The end of a long-standing legislative impasse between New York and New Jersey appeared imminent today. Governor-elect...

Dec. 27, 1961 - President Kennedy passed his physical examination today with high marks, but did not quite make straight A’s. The...

Dec. 26, 1961 - General Dwight D. Eisenhower and his family visited Disneyland today, and the former President seemed almost as delighted...

Dec. 25, 1961 - Communist border guards arrested three East Berliners today who waved at relatives in the West across the wall dividing...

Dec. 25, 1961 - President Kennedy and his family observed the customs of Christmas today, but misfortune dimmed the merriment. Joseph P....

Dec. 25, 1961 - Two South Vietnamese paratroopers were killed and three Americans injured Saturday when a U.S. Army helicopter crashed...

Dec. 25, 1961 - President Kennedy told West Berliners in a Christmas message today that the beacon of freedom in Berlin “will continue to...

Dec. 24, 1961 - Joseph P. Kennedy (pictured last Christmas Eve with his wife Rose), partly paralyzed by a stroke, has been stricken with...

Dec. 24, 1961 - Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy played Santa Claus today for children in the Negro ward at St. Mary’s Hospital, where...

Dec. 23, 1961 - Joseph P. Kennedy, President Kennedy’s 73-year-old father, improved “considerably” in the last 24 hours, it was announced...

Dec. 22, 1961 - President Kennedy and Prime Minister Macmillan agreed today to seek renewed diplomatic contacts with the Soviet Union on...

Dec. 22, 1961 - Hunter College’s refusal to permit programs sponsored by William F. Buckley Jr. (pictured), editor of The National...

Dec. 22, 1961 - Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy will make a round-the-world tour with his wife beginning in early February. The...

Dec. 21, 1961 - Doctors held out slightly more hope today for Joseph P. Kennedy (pictured with the President in March), although his...