Video: 'British Nuclear Test "Hurricane"'
(Friday, October 3, 1952) — Britain conducted its first atomic test today as it detonated a 25-kiloton device in the Monte Bello Islands off Australia.
Category Archives: Cold War
Kissinger’s talks spur Vietnam peace rumor 40 years ago tonight (1972)
Video: Sept. 27, 1972 (0:09)
(Wednesday, September 27, 1972, during the Vietnam War) — U.S. National Security Advisor Henry A. Kissinger arrived in Washington from Paris tonight amid rumors, which were strongly denied by the White House, that there had been a breakthrough in Vietnam peace negotiations.
Share this:
Americans discover Soviet SA-2 missiles in Cuba 50 years ago today (1962)
Video: Aug. 29, 1962 (at 6:41)
(Wednesday, August 29, 1962, during the Cold War) — Photographs taken by an American U-2 spyplane over Cuba first revealed today the presence there of Soviet SA-2 missiles, for anti-aircraft defense. Offensive missiles would not be discovered until later flights.
Share this:
Teen killed by border guards while trying to flee East Germany 50 years ago today (1962)
Video: 'Peter Fechter verblutet in Berlin: 17. August 1962 - Er ruhe jetzt in Frieden'
(Friday, August 17, 1962) — Peter Fechter, 18, was killed by East German border guards today as he attempted to cross the Berlin Wall into West Berlin. Continue reading Teen killed by border guards while trying to flee East Germany 50 years ago today (1962)
Share this:
14 nations sign treaty on Laos independence 50 years ago today (1962)
Video: July 23, 1962 (at 5:51)
(Monday, July 23, 1962, during the the Laotian Civil War, part of the Vietnam War/Second Indochina War, part of the Cold War) — Delegates of 14 nations today signed the International Agreement on the Neutrality of Laos, formally bringing to a close 14 months of efforts to restore peace to the Asian kingdom.
Share this:
Nuclear sky shot startles Hawaii 50 years ago this hour (1962)
Video: 'Declassified U.S. Nuclear Test Film #62'
(Sunday, July 8, 1962, 11:00:09 p.m. HAST) — The United States tonight conducted Starfish Prime, a nuclear test in which a 1.44 megaton warhead was detonated 250 miles above the Pacific Ocean. The resulting electromagnetic pulse caused limited electrical disruptions in parts of Hawaii.
Share this:
Jury awards John Henry Faulk $3.5 million in libel suit over charges of red links 50 years ago today (1962)
Video: 'Firing Line "Should the House Committee on Un-American Activities Be Abolished?"' (taped Apr. 21, 1966)
(Thursday, June 28, 1962) — A jury in New York awarded $3.5 million to former radio-TV personality John Henry Faulk today in his libel suit against the group AWARE Inc. and two individuals who’d accused him of Communist sympathies and gotten him blacklisted. The judgment was reduced to $550,000 by an appeals court.
Share this:
Truman lays keel for first atomic sub 60 years ago today (1952)
Video: 'Atom Sub. President Officiates At Laying Of Keel 1952 Newsreel'
(Saturday, June 14, 1952) — U.S. President Harry S Truman officiated at the keel-laying of the nuclear-powered submarine USS Nautilus today at the Electric Boat Shipyard in Groton, Connecticut.
Share this:
McNamara cites gains in South Vietnam 50 years ago today (1962)
Video: McNamara in Vietnam May 9-11, 1962 (at 3:30)
(Friday, May 11, 1962, during the Vietnam War, part of the the Indochina Wars and the Cold War) — Defense Secretary Robert S. McNamara wound up a 48-hour tour of South Vietnam today, and said he was encouraged, by what he had seen.
Share this:
U.S. submarine test fires atomic warhead in Pacific 50 years ago this hour (1962)
(Sunday, May 6, 1962, 6:45 p.m. EDT) — The first nuclear explosion to be caused by an American ballistic missile, rather than by a bomb dropped from an aircraft or at a fixed site, was accomplished today at Christmas Island, 1,200 miles from its launch site as the USS Ethan Allen fired the armed Polaris missile from underwater to its target.
