JFK MEETS WITH PM MACMILLAN IN BERMUDA
Hamilton, Bermuda (JFK+50) On December 21, 1961, President John F. Kennedy met with Prime Minister Harold Macmillan* of Great Britain at Government House here in Hamilton**.
The meeting, called "The Big Two Summit," concerned East-West relations, nuclear weapons, Berlin and the Congo.
Following the Berlin Crisis, the President and Prime Minister agreed to "maintain the effectiveness of the deterrent" by renewal of testing of nuclear weapons in the atmosphere. JFK & Macmillan talked for five hours per session only breaking for "tea".
*Harold Macmillan (1894-1986) was born in Chelsea, London to a British publisher & American born mother. His great grandfather was founder of Macmillan Publishing Company. HM served in WWI & fought at the Battle of the Somme. He was Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1957 to 1963 & developed a special relationship with JFK whose sister, Kick, married the nephew of his wife, Lady Dorothy Macmillan.
**Hamilton is the capital city of the British island of Bermuda in the North Atlantic. It was named after Sir Henry Hamilton, Governor of Bermuda 1786-1793.
JFK & Harold Macmillan in Bermuda
December 1961
JFK Library Photo
