Category Archives: Cold War

‘Dr. Strangelove’ black comedy film opens in Manhattan 60 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jan 29 1964)

1960s, Cold War, Movies 1960s


Video: 'Dr. Strangelove' (trailer)

(Wednesday, January 29, 1964, 10:30 a.m. EST) — Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, a British-American black comedy film which satirizes the Cold War fears of a nuclear conflict between the Soviet Union and the United States, opened this morning at the Victoria, 1547 Broadway (at W. 46th St.), in Manhattan. Continue reading ‘Dr. Strangelove’ black comedy film opens in Manhattan 60 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jan 29 1964) →

President John F. Kennedy denounces Soviet arrest of U.S. professor in what would turn out to be his 64th and last press conference 60 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Nov 14 1963)

1960s, Cold War, Television 1960s, U.S. Presidents


Video: 'President John F. Kennedy's 64th News Conference, November 14, 1963'

(Thursday, November 14, 1963, 11:00-11:30 a.m. EST; during the Cold War) — U.S. President John F. Kennedy asserted forcefully today that Yale Prof. Frederick C. Barghoorn was “innocent of any intelligence mission” in the Soviet Union and demanded his prompt release. Continue reading President John F. Kennedy denounces Soviet arrest of U.S. professor in what would turn out to be his 64th and last press conference 60 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Nov 14 1963) →

1963 South Vietnamese coup d’état begins 60 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Nov 1 1963)

1960s, Cold War, Vietnam War


Video: 'Nov. 2, 1963 | CBS Special Report on Vietnam: "Death of a Regime"' (aired Sunday, Nov. 3, 1963 at 10:30 EST)

(Friday, November 1, 1963, 1:30 p.m. Saigon Standard Time; during the 1963 South Vietnamese coup d’état, part of the Buddhist crisis of the Vietnam War) — The 1963 South Vietnamese coup d’état in which President Ngo Dinh Diem and his brother and advisor Ngo Dinh Nhu were deposed by a group of CIA-backed Army of the Republic of Vietnam officers who disagreed with Diem’s handling of the Buddhist crisis and the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong threat to South Vietnam, began today when three marine battalions of South Vietnam initiated their seizure of communications throughout the capital city, taking control of the city’s radio stations, national and municipal police stations, and the public and Defense Ministry telecommunications centers. Continue reading 1963 South Vietnamese coup d’état begins 60 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Nov 1 1963) →

U.S. troops invade tiny, leftist-ruled island of Grenada, rescuing 1,000 American students and restoring order 40 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Oct 25 1983)

1980s, Cold War


Video: 'NBC News Special Reports: October 25, 1983'

(Tuesday, October 25, 1983, 5:00 a.m. Atlantic Standard Time; during United States invasion of Grenada, part of the Cold War) — U.S. troops, supported by six Caribbean nations, invaded the tiny, leftist-ruled island of Grenada today, rescuing 1,000 American students and restoring order to the country, 100 miles north of Venezuela. Continue reading U.S. troops invade tiny, leftist-ruled island of Grenada, rescuing 1,000 American students and restoring order 40 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Oct 25 1983) →

OPEC retaliates for U.S. support of Israel in Yom Kippur War with oil embargo 50 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Oct 17 1973)

1970s, Cold War


Video: 'The 1973 Oil Crisis' (Oct. 17, 1973, at 2:34)

(Wednesday, October 17, 1973 evening local time; during the 1973 oil crisis and the Yom Kippur War,  part of the Arab–Israeli conflict, the Cold War, and the Israeli–Palestinian conflict) — Eleven Arab nations in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) imposed an oil embargo against countries they deem to have helped Israel in the Yom Kippur War, announcing tonight that they would cut their oil production by five percent every month until Israel agrees to withdraw completely from its occupied territories. Continue reading OPEC retaliates for U.S. support of Israel in Yom Kippur War with oil embargo 50 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Oct 17 1973) →

U.S. President Kennedy signs ratification of treaty banning all but underground nuclear tests 60 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Oct 7 1963)

Cold War, U.S. Presidents


Video: 'President Kennedy Signs Test Ban Treaty (1963)'

(Monday, October 7, 1963, 10:00 a.m. EDT; during the Cold War) — U.S. President John F. Kennedy formally ratified the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (PTBT) today, calling it “a clear and honorable national commitment” to the cause of man’s survival. Continue reading U.S. President Kennedy signs ratification of treaty banning all but underground nuclear tests 60 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Oct 7 1963) →

Yom Kippur War begins as Egypt and Syria launch surprise attack on Israel 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Oct 6 1973)

1970s, Cold War


Video: 'Yom Kippur War 1973 - Sinai Front DOCUMENTARY'

(Saturday, October 6, 1973, just before 2:00 p.m. Eastern European Time; during the Yom Kippur War,  part of the Arab–Israeli conflict, the Cold War, and the Israeli–Palestinian conflict) — The Yom Kippur War, the fourth and largest Arab–Israeli conflict, began today, on the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur, as Egyptian and Syrian forces invaded the Israeli-occupied Sinai peninsula and Golan Heights, both of which were occupied by Israel in 1967. Continue reading Yom Kippur War begins as Egypt and Syria launch surprise attack on Israel 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Oct 6 1973) →

President John F. Kennedy breaks ground for nuclear reactor at Hanford Site near Richland, Washington 60 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Sep 26 1963)

1960s, Cold War, U.S. Presidents


Video: 'Kennedy at Hanford, 1963'

(Thursday, September 26, 1963, JFK began speaking at 3:26 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time; during the Cold War) — President John F. Kennedy waved a magic wand over a boiling plateau of dust today at the Hanford Site in eastern Washington state as he presided over the groundbreaking of a nuclear reactor that would generate commercial and residential electricity while creating plutonium for use in nuclear weapons. Continue reading President John F. Kennedy breaks ground for nuclear reactor at Hanford Site near Richland, Washington 60 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Sep 26 1963) →

Chilean President Salvador Allende dies during violent military coup d’état supported by CIA 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Sep 11 1973)

1970s, Cold War, U.S. Presidents


Video: 'CIA, Chile & Allende' (Sept. 11, 1973, at 8:51)

(Tuesday, September 11, 1973, approximately 2:00 p.m. Chile Standard Time; during the 1973 Chilean coup d’état) — Chilean President Salvador Allende, the first Marxist to be elected president in a liberal democracy in Latin America, shot himself with an AK-47 assault rifle today during a U.S.-backed violent coup d’état led by General Augusto Pinochet, commander-in-chief of the Chilean Army. Continue reading Chilean President Salvador Allende dies during violent military coup d’état supported by CIA 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Sep 11 1973) →

U.S. President Kennedy warns Buddhist crisis imperils Vietnam as ‘CBS Evening News’ becomes network TV’s first half-hour nightly newscast 60 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Sep 2 1963)

1960s, Cold War, Television 1960s, U.S. Presidents, Vietnam War


Video: 'CBS Evening News [9-2-1963] First broadcast under new title/format'

(Labor Day, Monday, September 2, 1963, 6:30 p.m. EDT; during the Vietnam War, part of the Indochina Wars and the Cold War) — The CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite was expanded from 15 to 30 minutes tonight, becoming network television’s first half-hour nightly newscast in the United States. Continue reading U.S. President Kennedy warns Buddhist crisis imperils Vietnam as ‘CBS Evening News’ becomes network TV’s first half-hour nightly newscast 60 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Sep 2 1963) →