November 20, 2013
JFK HOSTED RECEPTION FOR SUPREME COURT JUSTICES 50 YEARS AGO TODAY
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) President John F. Kennedy hosted a reception for justices of the United States Supreme Court and their wives 50 years ago this evening, Wednesday, November 20, 1963.
An informal reception was held first in the upstairs private family quarters and then another formal reception was given downstairs.
The President and First Lady entertained 700 guests, according to Thurston Clarke,
"as he remained seated, rocking in his chair, (with) a hand under his chin..."
Among the guests were William O. Douglas*, age 65, with his new bride, 23 year old law student Joan Carol Martin.
Clarke writes that the new Mrs. Douglas found the President to be...
"incandescent, golden, and bigger than life.."
not black and white as in photographs of the day, but...
"vibrant and glowing..."
The United States Marine Band played downstairs. Their musical fare included songs from "My Fair Lady" and "Camelot."
Clarke writes that when Treasury Secretary C. Douglas Dillon greeted the President, JFK said to him...
"You're going off to Japan. I've got to go to Texas. I wish we could trade places."**
Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, who also attended the reception, was celebrating his 38th birthday. Thurston Clarke says that later that evening at a birthday party at his home, Bobby expressed misgivings about his brother's upcoming trip to Texas.
*William O. Douglas (1898-1980) served 36 years on the Supreme Court, the longest term to date of any justice. He was appointed by FDR. Douglas was described by TIME magazine as "the most committed libertarian to sit on the Court."
WOD was born in Minnesota and graduated from Whitman College in Washington State. He received his law degree from Columbia and taught at Yale.
He was twice divorced when he married Joan Martin. They divorced in 1966 and his 4th and final marriage was to 22 year old Cathleen Hefferman. Justice Douglas was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
**JFK and Jackie were planning a trip to Japan, the Philippines, India and Pakistan just after the New Year 1964.
SOURCES
"Johnny, We Hardly Knew Ye: Memories of John Fitzgerald Kennedy," by Kenneth P. O'Donnell and David F. Powers with Joe McCarthy, Little, Brown and Company, Boston, 1970.
"JFK's Last Hundred Days," by Thurston Clarke, The Penguin Press, New York, 2013.
JFK'S LAST FULL DAY AT THE WHITE HOUSE: NOVEMBER 20, 1963
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) Fifty years ago today, President John F. Kennedy spent the entire day at the White House but, nevertheless, had a "full agenda."
He met with entertainers Lena Horne and Carol Lawrence and also had a conversation with John M. Bailey, DNC chairman.
JFK issued a statement on the Extraordinary Administrative Radio Conference to Allocate Frequency Bands for Space Radio Communications and expressed the desire for establishing a global communications satellite system.
The system would allow United States corporations to team with foreign countries in global satellite communications.
The President sent an annual report to Congress on the participation of the U.S. in the U.N.
SOURCE
"JFK: Day By Day, A Chronicle of the 1036 Days of John F. Kennedy's Presidency," by Terry Golway and Les Krantz, Running Press Book Publishers, Philadelphia, 2010.
JFK HOSTED RECEPTION FOR SUPREME COURT JUSTICES 50 YEARS AGO TODAY
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) President John F. Kennedy hosted a reception for justices of the United States Supreme Court and their wives 50 years ago this evening, Wednesday, November 20, 1963.
An informal reception was held first in the upstairs private family quarters and then another formal reception was given downstairs.
The President and First Lady entertained 700 guests, according to Thurston Clarke,
"as he remained seated, rocking in his chair, (with) a hand under his chin..."
Among the guests were William O. Douglas*, age 65, with his new bride, 23 year old law student Joan Carol Martin.
Clarke writes that the new Mrs. Douglas found the President to be...
"incandescent, golden, and bigger than life.."
not black and white as in photographs of the day, but...
"vibrant and glowing..."
The United States Marine Band played downstairs. Their musical fare included songs from "My Fair Lady" and "Camelot."
Clarke writes that when Treasury Secretary C. Douglas Dillon greeted the President, JFK said to him...
"You're going off to Japan. I've got to go to Texas. I wish we could trade places."**
Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, who also attended the reception, was celebrating his 38th birthday. Thurston Clarke says that later that evening at a birthday party at his home, Bobby expressed misgivings about his brother's upcoming trip to Texas.
*William O. Douglas (1898-1980) served 36 years on the Supreme Court, the longest term to date of any justice. He was appointed by FDR. Douglas was described by TIME magazine as "the most committed libertarian to sit on the Court."
WOD was born in Minnesota and graduated from Whitman College in Washington State. He received his law degree from Columbia and taught at Yale.
He was twice divorced when he married Joan Martin. They divorced in 1966 and his 4th and final marriage was to 22 year old Cathleen Hefferman. Justice Douglas was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
Justice William O. Douglas
Library of Congress Photo
SOURCES
"Johnny, We Hardly Knew Ye: Memories of John Fitzgerald Kennedy," by Kenneth P. O'Donnell and David F. Powers with Joe McCarthy, Little, Brown and Company, Boston, 1970.
"JFK's Last Hundred Days," by Thurston Clarke, The Penguin Press, New York, 2013.
JFK'S LAST FULL DAY AT THE WHITE HOUSE: NOVEMBER 20, 1963
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) Fifty years ago today, President John F. Kennedy spent the entire day at the White House but, nevertheless, had a "full agenda."
He met with entertainers Lena Horne and Carol Lawrence and also had a conversation with John M. Bailey, DNC chairman.
JFK issued a statement on the Extraordinary Administrative Radio Conference to Allocate Frequency Bands for Space Radio Communications and expressed the desire for establishing a global communications satellite system.
The system would allow United States corporations to team with foreign countries in global satellite communications.
The President sent an annual report to Congress on the participation of the U.S. in the U.N.
SOURCE
"JFK: Day By Day, A Chronicle of the 1036 Days of John F. Kennedy's Presidency," by Terry Golway and Les Krantz, Running Press Book Publishers, Philadelphia, 2010.
