TOP TEN JFK+50 POSTS OF 2014
Knoxville, Tennessee (JFK+50) As we come to the end of the Year of Our Lord 2014, JFK+50 will review the ten most popular posts of the year. We will start with #10 and work our way to #1.
#10--TYLER ESCAPES DEATH (2-28) 121 hits
PRESIDENT TYLER'S NARROW ESCAPE 170 YEARS AGO TODAY
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) President John Tyler, cruising on the Potomac aboard the USS Princeton, was fortunate to escape death 170 years ago today, February 28, 1844, when a 12 inch, 27,000 pound cannon, known as The Peacemaker, exploded sending shrapnel in all directions.
#9--MASSIVE RETALIATION POLICY (1-12) 124 hits
President Eisenhower had decided that America's nuclear arsenal should be the "primary means" of defense against the communist world. Having been elected in 1952 and almost a year into his Presidency, Eisenhower believed the United States had not been pro-active against communist expansion while President Harry S Truman had served during the first years of the Cold War.
The former Commander of Allied Expeditionary Forces in World War II also believed that the nuclear deterrent would be a less costly means of defense.
#8--BROWN V. BOARD (5-17) 132 hits
BROWN V. BOARD HANDED DOWN 60 YEARS AGO TODAY
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) The Supreme Court ruled 60 years ago today, May 17, 1954, that racial segregation in public education is a violation of the United States Constitution. The unanimous ruling was announced by Chief Justice Earl Warren of California.
The decision in the case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka overturned the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson decision. While that case centered on segregation in rail transportation, the ruling was applied to public education facilities as well.
The 1896 ruling said that as long as facilities were "separate but equal" there was no violation of constitutional principles. As a matter of practice, however, facilities were "separate" but never "equal".
The Brown case was initiated by the NAACP in behalf of Linda Brown, a 3rd grader in Topeka, Kansas who was denied admission to her local elementary school because of her race. The Browns were represented by a group of attorneys led by Thurgood Marshall.
A year later the Court issues guidelines for desegregation of public schools calling for compliance "with all deliberate speed".
Thurgood Marshall
#7--KATHLEEN KENNEDY BORN (2-20) 143 hits
JFK'S SISTER KICK BORN 94 YEARS AGO TODAY
Brookline, Massachusetts (JFK+50) JFK's sister, Kathleen Agnes 'Kick' Kennedy was born 94 years ago today, February 20, 1920, here in Brookline. a suburb of Boston.
Kathleen was the second daughter and fourth child of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr.
#6--ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT ON RONALD REAGAN (3-30) 144 hits
ATTEMPT ON LIFE OF PRESIDENT REAGAN 33 YEARS AGO TODAY
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) Thirty three years ago today, March 30, 1981, Ronald Wilson Reagan was shot as he left a speaking engagement at the Hilton Hotel here in the Nation's Capital.
The President and three others were shot by John Hinckley, Jr.* who was immediately taken into custody.
The assassination attempt, which came just 69 days into Mr. Reagan's first term, took place at 2:27 p.m. Eastern time as the president, accompanied by aides and Secret Service agents, exited the hotel.
Six shots were fired from a Rohm RG-14 .22 caliber pistol.
Special Agent Jerry Parr of the United States 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.
The other victims included James Brady, Reagan's Press Secretary and Special Agent Thomas Delahanty.
#5--CASSIUS CLAY V SONNY LISTON (2-25) 149 hits
CASSIUS CLAY WON WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP 50 YEARS AGO TODAY
Miami Beach, Florida (JFK+50) Cassius Clay of Louisville, Kentucky was declared the winner of a heavyweight championship fight 50 years ago today, February 25, 1964, here in Miami Beach.
Clay, who won a gold medal in the Summer Olympic Games in 1960, won the match in the seventh round over reigning world champion, Sonny Liston.
#4--COLUMBIA SPACE SHUTTLE (2-1) 152 hits
COLUMBIA SPACE SHUTTLE TRAGEDY 11 YEARS AGO TODAY
Houston, Texas (JFK+50) The space shuttle Columbia broke up on reentry eleven years ago today, February 1, 2003, resulting in the deaths of all seven astronauts on board.
During launch of January 16, 2003, a piece of foam insulation broke away from the propellant tank and hit the edge of Columbia's left wing.
Wind and heat caused the wing to blow off during the forces of reentry into the earth's atmosphere.
President George W. Bush said:
"These astronauts knew the dangers and they faced them willingly, knowing they had a high and noble purpose in life."
#3--DEATH OF WINSTON CHURCHILL (1-24) 170 hits
WINSTON CHURCHILL DIED 49 YEARS AGO
London (JFK+50) Sir Winston Churchill, son of Lord Randolph Churchill and Jennie Jerome Churchill, died 49 years ago today, January 24, 1965, at his home at Hyde Park Gate here in London.
Sir Winston was survived by his wife, Lady Clementine Churchill, who was at his side at the time of death.
The body of the former British prime minister would lie in state for three days in Westminster Hall. This honor had not been granted to any English statesman since 1898. The funeral service was held at St. Paul's Cathedral.
Mr. Churchill was to be buried at the church of St. Martin's located in Bladon, Oxfordshire. Sir Winston chose the exact plot of burial because it has an unobstructed view of the window where he was born in 1874.
#2--TR SPEAKS ON RACIAL EQUALITY (2-13) 285 hits
TEDDY ROOSEVELT SPEAKS ON RACIAL EQUALITY
New York City (JFK+50) President Theodore Roosevelt, speaking before the New York City Republican Club 109 years ago today, February 13, 1905, cautioned that social and economic equality among the races should come "slowly" and that it should come not from government imposed changes but through a change in attitudes.
#1--HOLOCAUST DAY (1-27) 403 hits
New York City (JFK+50) The United Nations designated January 27 as International Holocaust Rememberance Day in 2005 to honor all victims of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich.
The significance of the date January 27th is that the largest concentration camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau, located in Poland, was liberated by Soviet troops on this date in 1945.
JFK+50 NOTE
HAPPY NEW YEAR'S EVE TO ALL OUR VISITORS!
Knoxville, Tennessee (JFK+50) As we come to the end of the Year of Our Lord 2014, JFK+50 will review the ten most popular posts of the year. We will start with #10 and work our way to #1.
#10--TYLER ESCAPES DEATH (2-28) 121 hits
PRESIDENT TYLER'S NARROW ESCAPE 170 YEARS AGO TODAY
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) President John Tyler, cruising on the Potomac aboard the USS Princeton, was fortunate to escape death 170 years ago today, February 28, 1844, when a 12 inch, 27,000 pound cannon, known as The Peacemaker, exploded sending shrapnel in all directions.
Explosion on the USS Princeton
February 28, 1844
#9--MASSIVE RETALIATION POLICY (1-12) 124 hits
DULLES ANNOUNCES MASSIVE RETALIATION POLICY
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) Sixty years ago today, January 12, 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower's Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles, announced a policy of "massive (nuclear) retaliation". The Secretary said that the government of the United States of America would henceforth protect its allies through the "deterrent of massive retaliatory power".
President Eisenhower had decided that America's nuclear arsenal should be the "primary means" of defense against the communist world. Having been elected in 1952 and almost a year into his Presidency, Eisenhower believed the United States had not been pro-active against communist expansion while President Harry S Truman had served during the first years of the Cold War.
The former Commander of Allied Expeditionary Forces in World War II also believed that the nuclear deterrent would be a less costly means of defense.
Eisenhower and Dulles
#8--BROWN V. BOARD (5-17) 132 hits
BROWN V. BOARD HANDED DOWN 60 YEARS AGO TODAY
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) The Supreme Court ruled 60 years ago today, May 17, 1954, that racial segregation in public education is a violation of the United States Constitution. The unanimous ruling was announced by Chief Justice Earl Warren of California.
The decision in the case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka overturned the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson decision. While that case centered on segregation in rail transportation, the ruling was applied to public education facilities as well.
The 1896 ruling said that as long as facilities were "separate but equal" there was no violation of constitutional principles. As a matter of practice, however, facilities were "separate" but never "equal".
The Brown case was initiated by the NAACP in behalf of Linda Brown, a 3rd grader in Topeka, Kansas who was denied admission to her local elementary school because of her race. The Browns were represented by a group of attorneys led by Thurgood Marshall.
A year later the Court issues guidelines for desegregation of public schools calling for compliance "with all deliberate speed".
Thurgood Marshall
JFK'S SISTER KICK BORN 94 YEARS AGO TODAY
Brookline, Massachusetts (JFK+50) JFK's sister, Kathleen Agnes 'Kick' Kennedy was born 94 years ago today, February 20, 1920, here in Brookline. a suburb of Boston.
Kathleen was the second daughter and fourth child of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr.
Kathleen Kennedy
London, England
JFK Library Photo (1943)
#6--ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT ON RONALD REAGAN (3-30) 144 hits
ATTEMPT ON LIFE OF PRESIDENT REAGAN 33 YEARS AGO TODAY
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) Thirty three years ago today, March 30, 1981, Ronald Wilson Reagan was shot as he left a speaking engagement at the Hilton Hotel here in the Nation's Capital.
The President and three others were shot by John Hinckley, Jr.* who was immediately taken into custody.
The assassination attempt, which came just 69 days into Mr. Reagan's first term, took place at 2:27 p.m. Eastern time as the president, accompanied by aides and Secret Service agents, exited the hotel.
Reagan Waves Just Before Shooting
Reagan Library Photo
Six shots were fired from a Rohm RG-14 .22 caliber pistol.
Special Agent Jerry Parr of the United States 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 included James Brady, Reagan's Press Secretary and Special Agent Thomas Delahanty.
#5--CASSIUS CLAY V SONNY LISTON (2-25) 149 hits
CASSIUS CLAY WON WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP 50 YEARS AGO TODAY
Miami Beach, Florida (JFK+50) Cassius Clay of Louisville, Kentucky was declared the winner of a heavyweight championship fight 50 years ago today, February 25, 1964, here in Miami Beach.
Clay, who won a gold medal in the Summer Olympic Games in 1960, won the match in the seventh round over reigning world champion, Sonny Liston.
Cassius Clay
World Heavyweight Champion
COLUMBIA SPACE SHUTTLE TRAGEDY 11 YEARS AGO TODAY
Houston, Texas (JFK+50) The space shuttle Columbia broke up on reentry eleven years ago today, February 1, 2003, resulting in the deaths of all seven astronauts on board.
During launch of January 16, 2003, a piece of foam insulation broke away from the propellant tank and hit the edge of Columbia's left wing.
Wind and heat caused the wing to blow off during the forces of reentry into the earth's atmosphere.
President George W. Bush said:
"These astronauts knew the dangers and they faced them willingly, knowing they had a high and noble purpose in life."
#3--DEATH OF WINSTON CHURCHILL (1-24) 170 hits
WINSTON CHURCHILL DIED 49 YEARS AGO
London (JFK+50) Sir Winston Churchill, son of Lord Randolph Churchill and Jennie Jerome Churchill, died 49 years ago today, January 24, 1965, at his home at Hyde Park Gate here in London.
Sir Winston was survived by his wife, Lady Clementine Churchill, who was at his side at the time of death.
The body of the former British prime minister would lie in state for three days in Westminster Hall. This honor had not been granted to any English statesman since 1898. The funeral service was held at St. Paul's Cathedral.
Mr. Churchill was to be buried at the church of St. Martin's located in Bladon, Oxfordshire. Sir Winston chose the exact plot of burial because it has an unobstructed view of the window where he was born in 1874.
Grave of Sir Winston Churchill
#2--TR SPEAKS ON RACIAL EQUALITY (2-13) 285 hits
TEDDY ROOSEVELT SPEAKS ON RACIAL EQUALITY
New York City (JFK+50) President Theodore Roosevelt, speaking before the New York City Republican Club 109 years ago today, February 13, 1905, cautioned that social and economic equality among the races should come "slowly" and that it should come not from government imposed changes but through a change in attitudes.
Theodore Roosevelt
Pach Brothers Photo (1915)
#1--HOLOCAUST DAY (1-27) 403 hits
INTERNATIONAL HOLOCAUST REMEMBERANCE DAY
New York City (JFK+50) The United Nations designated January 27 as International Holocaust Rememberance Day in 2005 to honor all victims of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich.
A candle-lighting ceremony is held to honor the day at the United States Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C.
United States Holocaust Museum
Photo by John White (2007)
The significance of the date January 27th is that the largest concentration camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau, located in Poland, was liberated by Soviet troops on this date in 1945.
JFK+50 NOTE
HAPPY NEW YEAR'S EVE TO ALL OUR VISITORS!
