Video: Dec. 14, 1962 (at 2:04)
(Friday, December 14, 1962; part of the Mariner program) — The U.S. space probe Mariner 2 passed Venus today at a distance of just over 21,000 miles, transmitting information about the planet, such as its hot surface temperatures and predominantly carbon dioxide atmosphere.
Video: Dec. 12, 1962 (at 4:33)
(Wednesday, December 12, 1962, afternoon; during the Vietnam War, part of the the Indochina Wars and the Cold War) — U.S. President John F. Kennedy admitted today in a news conference that there is “great difficulty” in fighting the guerilla war against Communist forces in South Vietam, but the situation is not darker than it was a year ago, “and in some ways lighter.” Continue reading JFK warns of ‘great difficultly’ fighting a guerilla war in Vietnam 50 years ago today (1962)
Video: 'The Day I Joined The Rolling Stones'
(Friday, December 7, 1962) — Bassist Bill Wyman auditioned for The Rolling Stones today. He played his first gig with the band the following week.
Video: 'December 6, 1962 - President Kennedy at the Awards Dinner of the Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr.,'
(Thursday, December 6, 1962, evening) — U.S. President John F. Kennedy awarded $225,000 tonight to four foreign scientists, an American educator and a national association for their outstanding work in the field of mental retardation.
The funds and awards were made by the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation for the first time at a dinner in Washington presided over by Adlai E. Stevenson, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.
Video: 'Dean Martin - Real Live Girl (Little Me)'
(Saturday, November 17, 1962) — The musical comedy Little Me, starring Sid Caesar in seven roles, opened today on Broadway at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre.
Video: 'President John F. Kennedy dedicates Dulles International Airport and Chicago O'Hara Airport'
(Saturday, November 17, 1962) — Washington Dulles International Airport, which serves the Baltimore-Washington-Northern Virginia metropolitan area centered on the District of Columbia, was dedicated today by President John F. Kennedy. It was named after John Foster Dulles, Secretary of State under former President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
(Friday, November 9, 1962) — Motown Records today released You’ve Really Got a Hold On Me by The Miracles.
Video: 'How the West Was Won' (trailer)
(Thursday, November 1, 1962) — How the West Was Won, an epic-western film about three generations of pioneers who take part in the forging of the American West, opened today in Britain.
Directed by John Ford, Henry Hathaway, George Marshall and Richard Thorpe, the film is narrated by Spencer Tracy and stars Carroll Baker, Walter Brennan, Lee J. Cobb, Andy Devine, Henry Fonda, Carolyn Jones, Karl Malden, Harry Morgan, Gregory Peck, George Peppard, Robert Preston, Debbie Reynolds, James Stewart, Eli Wallach, John Wayne, and Richard Widmark.
Video: 'What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?' trailer
(Friday, October 26, 1962) — What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, a psychological thriller film about a crazed, aging star who torments her sister in a decaying Hollywood mansion, premiered today in New York.
Directed by Robert Aldrich, the film starred Bette Davis, Joan Crawford and Victor Buono.
Video: October 26, 1962 (at 4:25)
(Friday, October 26, 1962, day eleven of the Cuban missile crisis, part of the Cold War) — A Soviet-chartered freighter is stopped at the quarantine line today and searched for contraband military supplies. None are found and the ship is allowed to proceed to Cuba.
Meantime, ABC News reporter John Scali is approached by Aleksander Fomin of the Soviet embassy staff with a proposal for a solution to the crisis.
Later, a long, rambling letter from Soviet Premier Khrushchev to U.S. President Kennedy makes a similar offer: removal of the missiles in exchange for lifting the quarantine and a pledge that the U.S. will not invade Cuba. Continue reading Krushchev offers deal to remove Soviet missiles from Cuba 50 years ago today (1962)
