Category Archives: U.S. Presidents

FDR selects Joseph P. Kennedy as envoy to Britain 80 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Dec 8 1937)

1930s, U.S. Presidents


Video: '"KENNEDYS DON'T CRY" (1975)' (Kennedy selected as Ambassador to Great Britain at 9:06)

(Wednesday, December 8, 1937, evening EST) — At a time of rising tensions in Europe, President Franklin D. Roosevelt has decided to appoint Joseph P. Kennedy Sr., Chairman of the Maritime Commission, as United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom, taking up his post there the following March, The New York Times reported tonight. Continue reading FDR selects Joseph P. Kennedy as envoy to Britain 80 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Dec 8 1937) →

Reagan, Gorbachev sign missile treaty 30 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Dec 8 1987)

1980s, Cold War, U.S. Presidents


Video: 'President Reagan: Signing of the INF Treaty with Premier Gorbachev, December 8, 1987'

(Tuesday, December 8, 1987, 1:45 p.m. EST; during the Washington Summit, part of the Cold War) — With fervent calls for a new era of peaceful understanding, U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty), the first treaty reducing the size of their nations’ nuclear arsenals, today at the White House. Continue reading Reagan, Gorbachev sign missile treaty 30 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Dec 8 1987) →

Pearson claims JFK’s ‘Profiles in Courage’ book was ghostwritten by aide 60 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Dec 7 1957)

1950s, Television 1950s, U.S. Presidents


Video: 'American Experience The Kennedys 1' ('Profiles' controversy at 1:10:21)

(Saturday, December 7, 1957, 10:00-10:30 p.m. EST) — Journalist Drew Pearson claimed Senator John F. Kennedy’s Pulitzer Prize winning book Profiles in Courage was “ghostwritten for him” by Kennedy speechwriter Ted Sorensen during a live interview on tonight‘s The Mike Wallace Interview program on ABC-TV (click here to watch the interview, the Kennedy reference begins at 12:25). Continue reading Pearson claims JFK’s ‘Profiles in Courage’ book was ghostwritten by aide 60 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Dec 7 1957) →

Everglades National Park dedicated by President Truman 70 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Dec 6 1947)

1940s, U.S. Presidents


Video: 'Everglades National Park Dedication (December 6, 1947)'

(Saturday, December 6, 1947, 2:30 p.m. EST) — Everglades National Park, a U.S. National Park in Florida that protects the southern 20 percent of the original Everglades, was dedicated by President Harry S. Truman today in Everglades City. Continue reading Everglades National Park dedicated by President Truman 70 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Dec 6 1947) →

Democrats, Republicans hold unique back-to-back debate 30 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Dec 1 1987)

1980s, U.S. Presidents

(Tuesday, December 1, 1987, 9:00-11:00 p.m. EST) — Twelve Presidential candidates brought a foretaste of the 1988 general election campaign into the nation’s living rooms tonight with a debate that emphasized party differences on foreign policy far more than distinctions among individual candidates (click here to watch the full debate).

Gene McCarthy to challenge LBJ for Democratic nomination 50 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Nov 30 1967)

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


Video: 'Vietnam: A Television History - Tet [6/11]' (McCarthy campaigns at 43:30)

(Thursday, November 30, 1967, morning EST; during the Vietnam War, part of the Indochina Wars and the Cold War) — In a direct challenge to the renomination of President Lyndon B. Johnson and his administration’s policies on the Vietnam War, U.S. Senator Eugene McCarthy of Minnesota announced his candidacy for the 1968 Democratic Party presidential nomination today in the Senate caucus room on Capitol Hill. Continue reading Gene McCarthy to challenge LBJ for Democratic nomination 50 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Nov 30 1967) →

Caroline Kennedy born 60 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Nov 27 1957)

1950s, U.S. Presidents


Video: '"KENNEDYS DON'T CRY" (1975)' (Kennedy's christening at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City, December 13, 1957, at 26:02)

(Wednesday, November 27, 1957, 8:15 a.m. EST) — Caroline Kennedy, the first child of U.S. Senator John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy, was born Caroline Bouvier Kennedy today at New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center in Manhattan. Continue reading Caroline Kennedy born 60 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Nov 27 1957) →

President Eisenhower suffers a slight stroke 60 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Nov 25 1957)

1950s, U.S. Presidents

(Monday, November 25, 1957, 4:00 p.m. EST) — Just hours after greeting King Mohammed V of Morocco at National Airport in Washington, President Dwight Eisenhower suffered a mild stroke late today as he found he could not complete his sentences while speaking to his secretary. Continue reading President Eisenhower suffers a slight stroke 60 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Nov 25 1957) →

U.S. Vice President Alben W. Barkley born 140 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Nov 24 1877)

1870s, U.S. Presidents


Video: 'Remember the Veep: The Life of Alben Barkley'

(Saturday, November 24, 1877) — Alben W. Barkley, the 35th Vice President of the United States who served under President Harry S. Truman (1949-1953), was born today in Lowes, Kentucky. Continue reading U.S. Vice President Alben W. Barkley born 140 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Nov 24 1877) →

Report: Reagan bears ‘ultimate responsibility’ for wrongdoing in Iran-Contra affair 30 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Nov 18 1987)

1980s, U.S. Presidents


Video: 'Documentary - Behind the Iran Contra Affair'

(Wednesday, November 18, 1987) — The congressional committees investigating the Iran-Contra affair issued their final report today, saying President Ronald Reagan failed to live up to his constitutional mandate to “take care that the laws be faithfully executed” and said he bore “the ultimate responsibility” for wrongdoing by his aides. Continue reading Report: Reagan bears ‘ultimate responsibility’ for wrongdoing in Iran-Contra affair 30 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Nov 18 1987) →