US-USSR SUMMIT COLLAPSES IN PARIS
In the aftermath of the recent shooting down of a U2 spy plane flying over Soviet air space, the scheduled summit meeting between President Eisenhower & Premier Nikita Khrushchev has collapsed in Paris, France.
Khrushchev demanded that the President cancel all future U2 flights & punish those responsible for the flight of Francis Gary Powers over the Soviet Union.
When Eisenhower said that he would only "suspend" the flights & would give no response to the proposal to punish those responsible for the recent U2 incident, the Soviet premier stalked out of the meetings.
A scheduled visit by President Eisenhower to Moscow has also been cancelled.
Khrushchev looks at U-2 Wreckage
May 16, 1961
JFK & FIRST LADY VISIT CANADA
President John F. Kennedy made his 1st foreign trip as head of state today.
The President, accompanied by 1st Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, will be in Canada for two days.
The visit got off to a bad start when JFK hurt his back during a tree planting ceremony in Ottawa, but the Canadians are impressed with his Florida tan & Mrs. Kennedy's stylish fashions.
Ottawa, Capital City of Canada
Photo by G. Baranski (2009)
May 16, 1963
JFK WELCOMES COOPER BACK TO EARTH
Project Mercury concluded its operations today with the successful splashdown of Gordon Cooper's "Faith 7" into the Atlantic Ocean.
The President placed a phone call to Cooper almost immediately upon his return.
In a prepared statement, JFK said:
"We take the greatest satisfaction as Americans in this extraordinary feat. Peace has her victories as well as war & this was one of the victories for the human spirit."
May 16, 1964
MOTOWN RECORDS HAS FIRST #1 HIT
Motown's "My Guy" by Mary Wells has reached #1 on the Billboard charts.*
*Motown would release 32 #1 hits in the next 10 yeas. "My Guy" was the last solo hit for Mary Wells. She died of throat cancer at age 49 in 1992.
"Hitsville, USA"
2648 W. Grand Boulevard
Detroit, Michigan
photo by Chris Butcher (2006)
May 16, 1868
PRESIDENT ANDREW JOHNSON ACQUITTED
President Andrew Johnson was acquitted today by the US Senate for "high crimes & misdemeanors."
The vote was 35 guilty, 19 not-guilty, just a single vote short of the 2/3 majority required by the Constitution for removal from office.
The main charge against the President was his violation of the Tenure of Office Act which requires Senate approval for the removal of a cabinet officer.
President Johnson had dismissed Secretary of War, Edwin M. Stanton, without obtaining the required approval.
Mr. Johnson will be allowed to finish out the term to which Abraham Lincoln & he as Vice-President were elected in 1864.
Andrew Johnson's Impeachment Trial
Illustration by Theodore R. Davis
Harper's Weekly
April 11, 1868
May 16, 1866
HIRES INVENTS "ROOT BEER"
Philadelphia pharmacist, Charles Elmer Hires, invented a new non-alcoholic beverage today which he calls "root beer".
He discovered the drink while on his honeymoon in New York.
Hires was served "root tea" at his hotel & so he was going to name his mixture "root tea" but decided "root beer" would be more appealing to the working class.
Hires presented his "root beer" at the 1876 Philadelphia Exposition calling it the greatest health giving beverage in the world.
He is hopeful that "root beer" will be seen as an alternative to alcohol.
Advertisement for Hires Root Beer
May 16, 1770
LOUIS, DAUPHIN OF FRANCE, WEDS MARIE ANTOINETTE OF AUSTRIA
15 year old Louis of France married 14 year old Marie Antoinette, daughter of Austrian Archduchess Maria Theresa & Holy Roman Emperor Francis I, today.
It is hoped this union will strengthen ties between France & Austria.*
*4 years later they will be crowned King & Queen of France. They are victims of the French Revolution as both are sent to the guillotine in 1793.
King Louis & Queen Marie Antoinette
