Ike meets with JFK in the oval office. Ike tells him that Laos is "the key to...Southeast Asia" & military action may be required.
In April 1961, JFK sends a carrier task force to the Gulf of Siam but otherwise decides not to intervene.
January 19, 1961
An Inaugural Gala is held at the National Armory in Washington, D.C. Jacqueline Kennedy wears an "ivory double-faced silk satin" gown with cockade trim. The dress establishes Mrs. Kennedy's style on the eve of becoming First Lady.
The cockade expresses pride in her French ancestry & love of history. During the revolution, Washington's soldiers wore black cockades & French General Lafayette wore a black & white cockade.
Courtesy of JFK Library, Boston
January 19, 1764
The British Parliament expels John Wilkes for challenging the integrity of King George III in his newspaper, The North Briton. Wilkes flees to France but returns in 1768.
Wilkes opposes the Townshend Acts which taxes British imports to the American colonies. Although re-elected to Parliament, he is refused his seat. In the colonies, patriots cry out "Wilkes & Liberty!"
January 19,1807
Robert E. Lee is born in Westmoreland County, Virginia. He will take command of the Army of Northern Virginia during the Civil War in 1861. Even though his side loses the war, Lee is considered the greatest general of the conflict.
January 19, 1809
Edgar Allan Poe is born in Boston, Massachusetts. He moves to Philadelphia in 1838 where he writes horror stories including "The Fall of the House of Usher" & "The Tell-Tale Heart" as well as the mystery "The Murders in the Rue Morgue". In 1844, Poe moves to New York City where he writes "The Raven". He dies in 1849 at the age of 40.
January 19, 1915
The 1st air raid in world history is carried out on Great Britain when bombs are dropped from German zeppelins. The attacks are on the towns of Great Yarmouth & King's Lynn.
January 19, 1966
Indira Gandhi becomes Prime Minister of India & the 1st woman to head the government. She is the daughter of Jawaharial Nehru, the 1st Prime Minister of the Independent Republic of India.
JFK welcomes Prime Minister Nehru to the US
In 1971, Indira Gandhi orders the invasion of Pakistan in support of the creation of Bangladesh. On October 31, 1984 she is assassinated by members of her own bodyguard.
Indira Gandhi visits Williamsburg, Virginia
