Category Archives: U.S. Presidents

U.S. Vice President Spiro Agnew resigns and pleads no contest to criminal tax evasion charges 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Oct 10 1973)


Video: 'KFMB-8 KNBC-4 (Oct 10,1973) Vice President "SPIRO AGNEW RESIGNS" News..'

(Wednesday, October 10, 1973, 2:05 p.m. EDT) — U.S. Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned abruptly from office this afternoon and then, in federal court in Baltimore, pled no contest to criminal charges of tax evasion, part of a negotiated resolution to a scheme wherein he was accused of accepting more than $100,000 in bribes during his tenure as governor of Maryland. Continue reading U.S. Vice President Spiro Agnew resigns and pleads no contest to criminal tax evasion charges 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Oct 10 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)


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)

Earl Warren sworn-in as 14th Chief Justice of the United States 70 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Oct 5 1953)


Video: '1953 Chief Justice: Governor Earl Warren Named To U.S. Highest Court'

(Monday, October 5, 1953, noon EST) — Former California Governor Earl Warren was sworn in today as the 14th Chief Justice of the United States; he would preside over a major shift in American constitutional jurisprudence, which has been recognized by many as a “Constitutional Revolution” in the liberal direction. Continue reading Earl Warren sworn-in as 14th Chief Justice of the United States 70 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Oct 5 1953)

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)


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)

President George Washington lays cornerstone of U.S. Capitol 230 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Sep 18 1793)


Video: 'Washington Places the First Cornerstone of the US Capitol Building'

(Wednesday, September 18, 1793, Washington and his Masonic entourage arrived in Federal City (District of Columbia) at 10:00 a.m. local time; during the United States Capitol cornerstone laying) — President George Washington, along with eight other Freemasons dressed in masonic regalia, laid the cornerstone of the U.S. Capitol, the home of the legislative branch of American government, today atop Jenkins Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall in Federal City (District of Columbia). Continue reading President George Washington lays cornerstone of U.S. Capitol 230 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Sep 18 1793)

Rabin and Arafat sign Oslo Accords at White House as Clinton applauds ‘brave gamble’ 30 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Sep 13 1993)


Video: 'Signing of the Israeli-Palestinian Declaration of Principles (1993)'

(Monday, September 13, 1993, 11:43 a.m. EDT; during the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, part of the Arab–Israeli conflict) — In a triumph of hope over history, Yitzhak Rabin, the Prime Minister of Israel, and Yasir Arafat, the chairman of the P.L.O., shook hands today on the White House lawn, sealing the Oslo Accords, the first agreement between Jews and Palestinians to end their conflict and share the holy land along the River Jordan that they both call home. Continue reading Rabin and Arafat sign Oslo Accords at White House as Clinton applauds ‘brave gamble’ 30 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Sep 13 1993)

U.S. Senator John F. Kennedy marries Jacqueline Lee Bouvier in Newport, Rhode Island 70 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Sep 12 1953)


Video: 'The Wedding of John F. Kennedy & Jacqueline Bouvier in Color'

(Saturday, September 12, 1953, 11:00 a.m. EDT) — U.S. Senator John F. Kennedy, 36, married Jacqueline Lee Bouvier, 24, today at St. Mary’s Church in Newport, Rhode Island, in a mass celebrated by Boston’s Archbishop Richard Cushing. Continue reading U.S. Senator John F. Kennedy marries Jacqueline Lee Bouvier in Newport, Rhode Island 70 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Sep 12 1953)

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


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)

Sonnie Hereford IV becomes first African-American child to integrate an Alabama public school 60 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Sep 9 1963)


Video: 'Hidden History: Integration of Alabama Schools'

(Monday, September 9, 1963, morning, local time; during the civil rights movement) — Sonnie Hereford IV, 6, became the first African-American student to integrate public schools in Alabama this morning following a lengthy court battle. Continue reading Sonnie Hereford IV becomes first African-American child to integrate an Alabama public school 60 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Sep 9 1963)

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)


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)