JFK NAMES "WHIZZER" WHITE TO SUPREME COURT
President Kennedy named Byron "Whizzer" White Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court today.
Justice White, 44 years old, becomes the youngest judge to ever serve on the high court.
Byron White earned the nickname "Whizzer" as a star half back for the University of Colorado Buffaloes. He also starred in basketball & baseball.
White, born in Fort Collins, Colorado, had also been a successful student, a Rhodes Scholar & member of Phi Beta Kappa.
In making the appointment, JFK said:
"He has excelled at everything. And I know that he will excel on the highest court in the land."
Ironically, during WWII, White in naval intelligence, wrote the report on the sinking of JFK's PT109.
Before being appointed to the Supreme Court, Byron White was a Deputy Attorney General.*
Byron White & Robert Kennedy
*White served on the Supreme Court until his retirement in 1993. As a justice, he took a practical rather than philosophical approach to the law. At the time of his death in 2002, White had been the last living "Warren Court" justice.
Associate Justice Byron White
March 30, 1981
PRESIDENT REAGAN SURVIVES ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT IN WASHINGTON
Just 69 days into his Presidency, Ronald Reagan was shot today as he left a speaking engagement at the Washington Hilton Hotel.
The President & 3 others were allegedly shot by John Hinckley, Jr. who was immediately taken into custody. Authorities have not yet determined a motive for the shooting.
The attempt on Reagan's life took place at 2:27 p.m. Washington time as Reagan, accompanied by aides & Secret Service agents, exited the hotel.
Reagan Waves Just Before Shooting
Six shots were fired from a Rohm RG-14 .22 caliber pistol.
Special Agent Jerry Parr of the US Secret Service pushed Reagan into the back of the Presidential car in an attempt to get him out of the line of fire while Special Agent Timothy McCarthy, placing his body in front of the President, took a bullet in the abdomen.
Parr Pushes Reagan Into Limo
The other victims include James Brady, Reagan's Press Secretary & Special Agent Thomas Delahanty.
President Reagan was taken to nearby George Washington University Hospital where he was attended by a surgical team headed by Dr. Joseph Giordano.
As the President was wheeled into surgery, he said "I hope you are all Republicans".
Dr. Giordano, a self-described "old fashioned liberal Democrat" replied: "Today, Mr. President, we are all Republicans."
During a very tense surgery, doctors located a bullet in the President's lung just an inch from his heart. Thanks to the quick action by the Secret Service & the talent & training of the medical staff at George Washington University, President Reagan is expected to recover.*
Mrs. Reagan with the President
*Ronald Reagan is the 1st President to survive being shot in an assassination attempt. He was hit by the 6th bullet which ricocheted off the side of the armored vehicle & entered under the left arm. The bullet grazed a rib & lodged in a lung.
President Reagan was able to return to the Oval Office on April 25 but James Brady, who suffered a serious head injury, was left permanently disabled. Agent Delahanty was forced to retire due to his wound.
John Hinckley was found not guilty by reason of insanity on June 1, 1992. The motivation for his crime is said to be a fanatical obsession with actress Jodie Foster.
John Hinckley, Jr.
March 30, 1948
FORMER VEEP CRITICAL OF TRUMAN'S POLICIES
Henry A. Wallace, former Vice-President of the United States, & now a Progressive Party presidential candidate, testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee today.
In his testimony, Wallace said that President Truman's call for universal military training is unnecessary & criticized Truman's statements on how to deal with the threat of communism.
Henry A. Wallace
March 30, 1867
ALASKA PURCHASE TREATY SIGNED BY SEWARD
Secretary of State William Seward signed a treaty with Russia today providing for the transfer of the Alaska territory to the United States for $7.2 million.
Seward, a Lincoln appointee now serving President Andrew Johnson, is a supporter of territorial expansion.*
*The Alaska Purchase was lampooned in the press as "Seward's Ice Box" or "Seward's Folly". The treaty was ratified by a single vote on April 9, 1867.
Alaska Purchase Check for $7,200,000
