I grew up in the 60s & JFK became & remains my hero. JFK+50 highlights the key events relating to JFK in an "on this day in history" format & includes other events in US & world history. The daily postings read as if published in a newspaper on the day of the event.
August 31, 2013 CHARLESTON SC HIT BY DEVASTATING EARTHQUAKE 127 YEARS AGO TONIGHT! Charleston, South Carolina (JFK+50) First came devastation wrought by the Civil War, but 31 years after the conflict ended and 127 years ago this evening, August 31, 1886, Charleston was hit by an earthquake which virtually destroyed the city.
Earthquake Damage Charleston, S.C. NOAA* Photo (1886) *National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration It had been a typically hot late August day in the Holy City and the evening was described by Paul Pinckney of the San Francisco Chronicle as "unusually sultry." The quake began about ten minutes before 9 o'lock and lasted just less than one minute. "Buildings were shaken as toys...people rushed from the houses" and many were killed from being hit by falling chimneys or walls. Brick and stone buildings suffered most with 2000 being severely damaged or destroyed. "Hardly a structure...was undamaged." St. Michael's Church was severely damaged, described as "a wreck" with "its tall steeple lying in the street."
St. Michael's Church Charleston, S. C. Photo by John White (2012) 14,000 chimneys fell and the quake was followed by multiple fires and ruptured water lines. "Many acres of ground were overflowed with sand. Fissures a meter wide extended parallel to the Ashley River and several large trees were uprooted." Earthquake damage extended to nearby Summerville. In downtown Charleston, "people gathered in public parks and squares," which were illuminated by gas lights, to assist the injured and care for the dying. Estimates were that at least 60 and possibly more than 100 people died as a result of the quake and total estimates of damage range from $5 to $6 million. Charleston, a city of 49,000 persons in 1886, had to be totally rebuilt. Yet, according to Paul Pinckney, by 1890 "the only visible evidence of this great destruction was seen in the cracks which remained in the buildings that were not destroyed." It is said that some of those cracks remain to this day.
Charleston Home with Earthquake Bolts** Photo by RegBarc (2007) www.en.wikipedia.org **Bolts, which were installed after the earthquake of 1886, added to the stability of Charleston homes and buildings. The Charleston earthquake of 1886, rated from 6.6 to 7.3 on the Richter Scale, remains the most powerful earthquake to occur in the southeastern United States. There were more than 300 aftershocks associated with the Charleston quake. Apparently there is no record of earthquake activity in the vicinity of Charleston prior to August 31, 1886. Nearly 20 years after the Charleston earthquake, Paul Pinckney summed it up this way... "Thrice in a generation Charleston was nearly obliterated. The civil war left it in ashes, the earthquake left it in ruins, a few years subsequent it was visited by a cyclone which damaged it over $5,000,000. Yet despite all these disasters her brave people have risen superior to every reverse and are daily growing in wealth and power." SOURCES "Historic Earthquake, Charleston, SC, 1886, Mag 7.3," USGS, www.earthquake.usgs.gov/ "Lessons Learned from the Charleston Quake, How the Southern city was rebuilt finer than ever within 4 years," by Paul Pinckney, San Francisco Chronicle, May 6, 1906, www.sfmuseum.org/
August 30, 2013 HOT LINE CONNECTS PENTAGON WITH KREMLIN Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) A "hot line" between the Pentagon and the Kremlin, was activated 50 years ago today, August 30, 1963, making John F. Kennedy the first United States president to have access to the new technology. Earlier in June, the hot line agreement had been signed by representatives of the United States and the Soviet Union.
The White House issued a statement saying the hotline would "help reduce the risk of war occurring by accident or miscalculation." The first test message sent over the wires from Washington was: "The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog's back 1234567890."
Kennedy Hotline The New York Times reported that the hot line was... "a direct outgrowth of the serious delays that developed in diplomatic communications between the 2 capitals during the Cuban Missile Crisis." The hot line had the capability of reducing the time to initiate direct communication between the President of the United States and the Premier of the Soviet Union from hours to minutes. Despite the improvement, however, the process was not exactly what has been depicted in some Hollywood movies. If JFK or presidents who followed wanted to place a call on the hotline, they first had to call the Pentagon and have operators there type in his message on the teletype machine* that was included in the system. The President's message would then be encrypted, fed to a transmitter and sent to the Kremlin. *The hot line system included 4 American made teletype machines located at the Kremlin and 4 East German made teletype machines located at the Pentagon.
Nikita Khrushchev or one of premiers who followed would then receive the message and a reply would be sent following a similar procedure back to the Pentagon. While JFK was the first president to have access to the hot line, it was actually LBJ who became the first president to use it in 1967 when he was considering sending Air Force jets to the Middle East. President Richard M. Nixon used the hotline twice, in 1971 and 1973 and President Ronald Reagan also used it. Even though the Cold War ended many years ago, the Hot Line is still in place and operational today. SOURCE "August 30, 1963/Communications 'Hot Line' Connects Soviet and U.S. Heads of State," The Learning Network, www.learning.blogs.nytimes.com/
BLUFORD 1ST AFRICAN AMERICAN IN SPACE Cape Canaveral, Florida (JFK+50) Lt. Col. Guion S. Bluford of the United States Air Force became the 1st African-American to be launched into outer space 30 years ago today, August 30, 1983. Lt. Col Bluford, a mission specialist, was launched with his fellow astronauts aboard the space shuttle Challenger from Cape Canaveral, Florida at 2:32 a.m. Bluford earned a PhD in the philosophy of Aeronautical Engineering from the US Air Force Institute of Technology.
JFK MET WITH ADVISERS ON SUPPORT FOR COUP IN SOUTH VIETNAM 50 YEARS AGO TODAY Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) The day following the historic March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, Thursday, August 29, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was meeting with his advisers at the White House regarding US policy in South Vietnam. Thanks to audio tapes made at the meeting, declassified and released in December 2009, we now know the specifics of this meeting in which possible support of an overthrow of the government of President Ngo Dinh Diem* was discussed. *Ngo Dinh Diem (1901-1963), president of the Republic of Vietnam 1955-1963, was born in Quang Binh and graduated 1st in his class at the French School of Public Administration and Law in 1921.
Ngo Dinh Diem President Republic of Vietnam May 8, 1957 NARA Image
According to The National Security Archive, President Kennedy acted as a "moderator," asking questions and listening to answers from his various advisers. In the President own words, "We're up to our hips in mud out there." Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Maxwell Taylor, Attorney General Robert Kennedy and CIA director John McCone opposed supporting the coup while several others were in favor of US backing of the overthrow. Senior officials told JFK that there was "no chance of success" in the war in Vietnam with Diem as president of South Vietnam. The President and a majority of his advisers concluded that, at the very least, Ngo Dinh Nhu**, Diem's younger brother and chief political adviser, had to go. **Ngo Dinh Nhu (1910-1963) was born in Phu Cam, French Indochina. He graduated from an archivists school in Paris and worked at Hanoi's National Library. In 1943, he married Tran Le Xuan who was later known as 'Madame Nhu.'***
Madame Nhu and LBJ May 12, 1961 LBJ Library Photo ***Tran Le Xuan, a.k.a. Madame Nhu, (1924-2011) served as 1st Lady of South Vietnam from 1955 to 1963 as her brother-in-law, President Diem, was unmarried. She converted from Buddhism to Catholicism and as 1st Lady opposed abortion, adultery, beauty pageants, brothels and opium dens. Madame Nhu was sometimes called the Dragon Lady because of her fiery attitude. She was with one of her daughters in California when her husband and brother-in-law were killed. She blamed the U.S. for the coup saying... "Whoever has the Americans as allies does not need enemies." JFK would dispatch McNamara and Taylor to South Vietnam to attempt to convince Diem of the necessity of removing Nhu. During the McNamara-Taylor mission, the United States terminated military aid to the South Vietnam Special Forces which was controlled by Nhu. The National Security Archives says that this action indicates that JFK was prepared to support Diem's overthrow if he didn't cooperate. SOURCE "Kennedy Considered Supporting Coup in South Vietnam, August 1963." The National Security Archive, December 11, 2009, www.2.gwu.edu/
August 28, 2013 MARCH ON WASHINGTON FOR JOBS AND FREEDOM HELD 50 YEARS AGO TODAY Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom*, attended by a quarter of a million people, was held here in the Nation's Capital 50 years ago today, Wednesday, August 28, 1963.
*Most people know the event simply as "The March on Washington," and associate it with civil rights, but it was also the desire of organizers to emphasize the wide economic disparity between the races. In 1963, the unemployment rate for blacks was twice that of whites in the United States and the income of white families was almost twice that of black families.
Bayard Rustin and Cleveland Robinson March on Washington organizers August 7, 1963 Library of Congress Photo A flyer for the March stated... "America faces a crisis. Millions of Negroes are denied freedom. Millions of citizens, black and white are unemployed. We demand meaningful Civil Rights Laws, full and fair employment, (a) massive Federal Works Program, decent housing, the right to vote (and) adequate integrated education." The highlight of the day came when the leader of the Civil Rights Movement, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. addressed the audience at the Lincoln Memorial. Dr. King, who had only finished writing the speech that morning, said: "I still have a dream. It is a dream that is deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal'. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." Dr. King concluded his remarks with these resonating words...
"When we allow freedom (to) ring....we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old negro spiritual, 'Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty, we're free at last.'" After the event, civil rights leaders, including Dr. King of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), Roy Wilkins, of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Whitney Young, Jr. of the National Urban League, John Lewis of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and A. Philip Randolph, founder of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, met with President John F. Kennedy at the White House. John Lewis said that the President greeted each of them at the door of the Oval Office and congratulated them with the words, "You did a great job." The March on Washington was the brainchild of A. Philip Randolph who had attempted to lead a march in 1941 which never materialized but resulted in FDR's executive order prohibiting discrimination in munition plants. Mr. Randolph, who became the Director of the March on Washington, had been counseling Dr. King to hold a march in the Nation's Capital in 1963. President Kennedy's speech on civil rights in June along with his submission of a civil rights bill, gave a strong boost to Randolph's idea.* *JFK had been concerned that the March on Washington would turn violent and hurt chances for the passage of his civil rights legislation. When the day ended with no violence, the President was relieved and pleased. He reportedly told a black doorman at the White House earlier in the day that he wished he could be "out there" with the marchers. Thurston Clarke says that after JFK watched Dr. King's speech, he said: "That's a terrific speech. He's damn good."
Dr. Martin Luther King Speaking at the Lincoln Memorial Washington, D.C. August 28, 1963 It was A. Philip Randolph's decision to appoint Bayard Rustin as his deputy. It would be Rustin's task to make "all the pieces fit smoothly together." Those pieces included publicity to get marchers to come to Washington, transportation, order, sanitation, bus parking, scheduling and district regulations. Among the 250,000 marchers in Washington 50 years ago were celebrities Jackie Robinson, James Baldwin, Marlon Brando, Paul Newman, Harry Belafonte, Sammy Davis, Jr., Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee, Diahann Carroll, Burt Lancaster and Charlton Heston. And there were singers: Marian Anderson, Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Mahalia Jackson, Odetta and Peter, Paul and Mary. When the March on Washington ended, the White House issued this statement: "We have witnessed today...tens of thousands of Americans...exercising their right to assemble peaceably and direct the widest possible attention to a great national issue. Efforts to secure equal treatment and equal opportunity for all without regard to race, color, creed or nationality are neither novel nor difficult to understand. What is different today is the intensified and widespread public awareness of the need to move forward in achieving these objectives." SOURCE "We Shall Overcome: The History of the Civil Rights Movement As It Happened," by Herb Boyd, Sourcebooks, Inc. Naperville, Illinois, 2004.
MAHALIA JACKSON'S WORDS TO MLK: "TELL THEM ABOUT THE DREAM!" Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. asked the Queen of Gospel Music to sing "I've Been Buked and I've Been Scorned"before he spoke at the March on Washington at the Lincoln Memorial. Before she sang, however, Mahalia Jackson said to Dr. King: "Martin, tell them about the dream". Dr. King had included the "I have a dream" theme in previous speeches and sermons but it was not included in the text of his March on Washington address. He followed Mahalia's advice, however, adding "I have a dream" to his closing his remarks.
Mahalia Jackson Queen of Gospel Music Photo by Carl Van Vechten (1962)
Lincoln Memorial Photo by John White (2011) OBAMA TO SPEAK AT LET FREEDOM RING CEREMONY COMMEMORATING THE MARCH Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) President Barack Obama will speak today at the "LET FREEDOM RING" ceremony on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in commemoration of the March on Washington For Jobs and Freedom held 50 years ago today, August 28, 1963.
Spot Where MLK Gave "The Speech" Lincoln Memorial Photo by John White (2011) The ceremony is scheduled for 3 p.m. (EDT), the same time when MLK gave his "I Have a Dream" speech. SOURCE www.iipdigital.usembassy.gov/
August 27, 2013 JFK SAYS GOVERNMENT CAREER OFFERS HAPPINESS Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) President John F. Kennedy, speaking to about 5000 students 50 years ago today, August 27, 1963, recommended government service as a career. The students, in the Nation's Capital as summer employees of the Federal Government, were gathered on the South Lawn at the White House.
JFK Greets Peace Corps Volunteers August 9, 1962 Photo by Rowland Scherman JFK Library Image President Kennedy said... "I can assure you that there is no career which you will adopt when you leave college that will bring you a more and greater sense of satisfaction and a greater feeling of participation in a great effort than will your work here or in your State or in your community." The President predicted.... "This generation of Americans...will deal with the most difficult, sensitive and dangerous problems that any society of people has ever dealt with at any age." JFK counseled the students to "understand the great issues" and attempt to have their own view carried out. The President said their talents were "vitally needed" and, in his opinion, government service would offer them "happiness." JFK concluded his remarks by saying... "The Greeks defined happiness as the full use of your powers along lines of excellence, and I can imagine no place where you can use your powers more fully along lines more excellent in the 1960's than to be in the service of the United States." SOURCE "Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: John F. Kennedy, 1963, United States Government Printing Office, Washington, 1964. RED SCARE DOMINATED NY TIMES FRONT PAGE New York City (JFK+50) Sixty-one years ago today, August 27, 1952, The New York Times carried three articles on its front page relating to the impact the RED SCARE would have on upcoming elections. In one of the articles, the Times reported that the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee, made up of mostly Republicans, had made the charge that the Radio Writers Guild was dominated by a "small group of communists". Another article reported the AMERICAN LEGION was demanding, for the 3rd year in a row, that President Harry S Truman fire his Secretary of State Dean Acheson for a "lack of vigor" in fighting communism. The final article quoteed Democratic presidential nominee Adlai Stevenson as being critical of the use of "patriotism" by Senator Joseph McCarthy in attacking "good Americans" such as Acheson and General George C. Marshall.
LBJ BORN IN TEXAS 105 YEARS AGO TODAY Stonewall, Texas (JFK+50) Samuel Ealy Johnson, Jr. and Rebekah Baines Johnson were the proud parents of a baby boy born here in Stonewall 105 years ago today, August 27, 1908. They named their son LYNDON BAINES JOHNSON*. LBJ was born in a small farmhouse located along the Pedernales River.
LBJ at 1 Month Stonewall, Texas (1908) LBJ Library Photo *Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973) After teaching Mexican-American children in Cotulla, Texas, LBJ graduated from Southwest Texas State Teacher's College in 1930. He taught at Pearsall High School and Sam Houston High School in Houston. LBJ was elected to Congress in 1937, served in the US Navy in WWII, and was elected to the Senate in 1948. Senator Johnson was majority leader 1955-1961, Vice President 1961-63, and 36th POTUS 1963-1969.
LORD MOUNTBATTEN KILLED BY IRA BOMB BLAST 34 YEARS AGO TODAY London, U.K. (JFK+50) Lord Louis Mountbatten was killed 34 years ago today, August 27, 1979, when Irish Republican Army (IRA) terrorists set off a fifty pound bomb hidden aboard his fishing vessel. The 79 year old Mountbatten, the 2nd cousin of Queen Elizabeth II, was enjoying the day with his family off Ireland's northwest coast when the bomb exploded. He was commander of the 5th destroyer flotilla in WWII and in 1942 was appointed chief of operations eventually becoming Supreme Allied Commander of Southeast Asia.* *This was the 1st attack by the IRA on the British Royal Family.
Lord Louis Mountbatten Photo by Allan Warren (1976)
August 26, 2013 MR.PRESIDENT, HOW IS YOUR ACHING BACK? London, UK (JFK+50)Earlier this month, James G. Blight published an interesting article in THE NEW STATEMAN* which makes the argument that John F. Kennedy's greatest asset as a decision-maker came from... "the way he dealt with his physical weakness, and the conclusions he drew from the inability of the top doctors of his time to...successfully treat his array of physical maladies." *The New Statesman is a political and cultural magazine published in London. It was founded in 1913 by Sidney and Beatrice Webb. It is committed to global issues, human rights and the environment. As president of the United States for 1039 days, JFK was literally the picture of health at home and around the world. His tanned and youthful image appeared on the covers of countless numbers of magazines. Those images bore no hint of the health problems President Kennedy experienced. After all, at age 43, he was the youngest elected president in history. His wife, Jacqueline, much younger than he, was one of the most beautiful First Ladies ever and JFK was the first president since TR to have young children in the White House.
The First Family Hyannis Port, Massachusetts August 4, 1962 Photo by Cecil Stoughon Most of us know now, however, that John F. Kennedy may well have been one of the most unhealthy men to hold the office of POTUS. As. James Blight points out, JFK was given the Last Rites of the Roman Catholic Church on "at least four occasions," and his "physical maladies" included "Addison's disease...degeneration of his spinal cord...and unbearable back pain."
Jackie with JFK After Spinal Surgery December 21, 1954 Photo by Dick DeMarisco Library of Congress Image But despite the healthy image JFK projected from 1961 to 1963, the world was generally aware that he suffered from back pain and while the press refrained from publishing photographs of the President during the times he had to resort to the use of crutches, they did not attempt to cover up his back issues. One reporter even went so far to ask at a news conference... "Mr. President, how is your aching back?" President Kennedy responded in his characteristic self-effacing manner... "It depends on the weather, political and otherwise." Mr. Bright goes on to say that the failure of JFK's physicians to successfully cure his health issues led him to "never trust the experts - whether doctors or generals." JFK's mindset also, Bright argues, contributed to his "disregard for rank and/or experience" and President Kennedy's requirement for PROOF instead of simple reassurance... "kept the United States and the world from disastrous wars during his presidency." SOURCE "Acts of agony," by James G. Blight, The New Statesman, August 7, 2013, www.newstatesman.com/
LBJ NOMINATED FOR PRESIDENT IN 1964 Atlantic City, New Jersey (JFK+50) The 36th President of the United States, Lyndon Baines Johnson, was nominated here in Atlantic City 49 years ago tonight, August 26, 1964, by the delegates of the 1964 Democratic National Convention. Mr. Johnson assumed the Presidency upon the death of John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963. LBJ, who was tabbed for the VP slot by JFK on the 1960 Democratic presidential ticket, went on to choose Hubert Horatio Humphrey of Minnesota as his running mate. LBJ won a landslide victory over Republican Barry Goldwater of Arizona in the November general election.
JFK and LBJ August 31, 1961 Photo by Abbie Rowe JFK Library Image
LINDBERGH DIED 39 YEARS AGO IN HAWAII Maui, Hawaii (JFK+50) Charles Augustus Lindbergh, the 1st man to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, died here in Maui, 39 years ago today, August 26, 1974, at the age of 72. Lindbergh, who was born in Detroit in 1902, died of lymphoma. His remains were interred at the Palapala Ho'omau Church in Kipahulu, Maui.
JFK+50 recommends Rick Ryan's new song "Childhood's End."
