(Friday, January 30, 1976, 11:02 a.m. EST) — George H.W. Bush, with President Gerald Ford in attendance, was sworn in today as the 11th Director of Central Intelligence (replacing William Colby) to head the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, recently rocked by a series of revelations, including those based on investigations by the Church Committee regarding illegal and unauthorized activities.
(Monday, January 17, 1966, at about 10:30 a.m. UTC; during the Cold War) — A U.S. Air Force B-52 carrying four unarmed hydrogen bombs crashed today near the Spanish coastal town of Palomares after colliding with a jet tanker.
Fortunately, no nuclear explosion was triggered, but all four of the men on board the tanker were killed, and only four of the seven men on the B-52 were able to parachute to safety.
Three of the bombs were quickly recovered, but the fourth wasn’t recovered until April 1966.
Video: 'Jan. 12, 1966: LBJ's Commitment to Vietnam'
(Wednesday, January 12, 1966, 9:04 p.m. EST; during the Vietnam War, part of the Indochina Wars and the Cold War) — In his third State of the Union message, U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson pledged soberly tonight to stay in Vietnam “until aggression has stopped” but also promised to continue and expand the Great Society at home. Continue reading Johnson asks domestic reform, stands firm on Vietnam in State of the Union address 50 years ago this hour (Jan 12 1966)
Video: 'Secret War in Laos Documentary Film: Laotian Civil War and U.S. Government Involvement'
(Tuesday, December 2, 1975) — The 22-year Laotian Civil War ended today as Laos came under full communist control today when the 19-month-old coalition government fell to Pathet Lao leader Prince Souphanouvong, establishing the People’s Democratic Republic of Laos.
Video: 'November 19, 1985: Geneva Summit - www.NBCUniversalArchives.com'
(Tuesday, November 19, 1985; during the Cold War) — U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev met today for the first time as they began their summit in Geneva in what the two sides described as a “good atmosphere.”
The much-heralded encounter, the first between Soviet and American leaders in six years, included two conversations with only interpreters present.
Video: 'Inside Vietnam: Battle at Ia Drang'
(Sunday, November 14, 1965, 10:48 a.m. ICT; during the Vietnam War, part of the Indochina Wars and the Cold War) — The U.S. Army’s first major military operation of the Vietnam War began today with the start of the five-day Battle of Ia Drang.
The fighting between American troops and North Vietnamese forces ended on Nov. 18, 1965, with both sides claiming victory.
Video: 'Eisenhower Has a Heart Attack 1955'
(Friday, November 11, 1955, 4:00 p.m. EST) — U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower returned to Washington today to a roaring “welcome home” from thousands of well wishers, nearly seven weeks after suffering a serious heart attack while on vacation in Denver.
Video: 'Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov Biography - Documentary'
(Thursday, October 9, 1975) — Andrei Sakharov, the father of the Soviet hydrogen bomb who incurred governmental wrath by becoming the Soviet Union’s most outspoken proponent of civil liberties, won the Nobel Peace Prize today.
(Monday, October 8, 1945, 8:15 p.m. local time) — U.S. President Harry S. Truman declared this evening that the secret of the atomic bomb would be shared only with Britain and Canada during a press conference in Tiptonville, Tennessee.
Video: 'Samantha Smith Dies - Archival Footage'
(Monday, August 25, 1985, at about 10:05 p.m. EDT; during the Cold War) — Samantha Smith, the 13-year-old schoolgirl whose letter to Soviet leader Yuri V. Andropov resulted in her peace tour of the communist country, was killed tonight with her father, Arthur, and six other people in a commuter plane crash near Auburn-Lewiston Municipal Airport in Auburn, Maine. Continue reading Air crash kills citizen diplomat Samantha Smith 30 years ago this hour (Aug 25 1985)
