Category Archives: U.S. Presidents

U.S. President Richard Nixon begins historic visit to People’s Republic of China as he arrives in Beijing 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Feb 21 1972)

1970s, Cold War, U.S. Presidents


Video: 'Nixon in China: The Week that Changed the World' (Feb. 21, 1972, at 1:51)

(Monday, February 21, 1972, 11:30 a.m. China Standard Time; during the 1972 visit by Richard Nixon to China and the Cold War) — President Richard Nixon and his wife, Pat, arrived in Beijing this morning to mark the end of a generation of hostility between the United States and China and to begin a new but still undefined relationship between the most powerful (the U.S.) and the most populous (China) of nations on Earth.. Continue reading U.S. President Richard Nixon begins historic visit to People’s Republic of China as he arrives in Beijing 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Feb 21 1972) →

President Abraham Lincoln’s third son, 11-year-old Willie, dies of typhoid fever at the White House 160 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Feb 20 1862)

1860s, American Civil War, U.S. Presidents


Video: 'The Death of Willie Lincoln'

(Thursday, February 20, 1862, 5:00 p.m. local time; during the American Civil War) — William Wallace “Willie” Lincoln, the third son of President Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln, died today of typhoid fever at the White House in Washington, D.C. He was only 11 years old. Continue reading President Abraham Lincoln’s third son, 11-year-old Willie, dies of typhoid fever at the White House 160 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Feb 20 1862) →

President Franklin D. Roosevelt authorizes relocation and internment of Japanese Americans 80 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Feb 19 1942)

1940s, U.S. Presidents, World War II


Video: 'Executive Order 9066: A Shameful Moment In WW2 America | Silent Sacrifice Part 1 | Timeline

(Thursday, February 19, 1942; during the internment of Japanese Americans, part of World War II) — President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 today, authorizing the secretary of war to prescribe certain areas as military zones and clearing the way for about 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry, most of whom lived on the Pacific Coast, to be forcibly relocated and incarcerated in concentration camps in the western interior of the country. Continue reading President Franklin D. Roosevelt authorizes relocation and internment of Japanese Americans 80 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Feb 19 1942) →

U.S. Vice President Henry Wilson born in Farmington, New Hampshire 210 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Feb 16 1812)

1810s, U.S. Presidents


Video: 'Top 5 Vice Presidents in American History' (Henry Wilson @ 4:17)

(Sunday, February 16, 1812) — Henry Wilson, the 18th vice president of the United States, who served from 1873 until his death in 1875 during the administration of President Ulysses S. Grant, was born Jeremiah Jones Colbath today in Farmington, New Hampshire. Continue reading U.S. Vice President Henry Wilson born in Farmington, New Hampshire 210 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Feb 16 1812) →

Arizona admitted as 48th state of the Union 110 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Feb 14 1912)

1910s, U.S. Presidents


Video: 'Arizona History - Road to Statehood'

(Wednesday, February 14, 1912, 10:00 a.m. EST) — In the presence of many Arizonans who had journeyed to Washington for the occasion, U.S. President William H. Taft today signed the proclamation admitting Arizona to the Union as the 48th state. Continue reading Arizona admitted as 48th state of the Union 110 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Feb 14 1912) →

U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond sends secret memo recommending ex-Beatle John Lennon be deported 50 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Feb 4 1972)

1970s, Popular Music 1970s, The Beatles 1970s, U.S. Presidents


Video: 'Inside The FBI's Files On John Lennon'

(Friday, February 4, 1972) — U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond sent a secret memo today to William Timmons (in his capacity as an aide to President Richard Nixon) and U.S. Attorney General John N. Mitchell, with an attached file from the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee, urging that British musician John Lennon (then living in New York City) be deported from the United States as an undesirable alien due to Lennon’s political views and activism. Continue reading U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond sends secret memo recommending ex-Beatle John Lennon be deported 50 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Feb 4 1972) →

U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt born in Hyde Park, New York 140 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Jan 30 1882)

1880s, U.S. Presidents


Video: '"FDR" Documentary (ABC, 1982)'

(Monday, January 30, 1882) — Franklin D. Roosevelt, the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945, was born Franklin Delano Roosevelt today at Springwood, the family’s estate in the Hudson Valley town of Hyde Park, New York. Continue reading U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt born in Hyde Park, New York 140 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Jan 30 1882) →

President George W. Bush targets ‘axis of evil’ in State of the Union address 20 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jan 29 2002)

2000s, U.S. Presidents


Video: 'President Bush Axis of Evil Speech'

(Tuesday, January 29, 2002, approximately 9:00 p.m. EST; during the War on terror and the War in Afghanistan) — In his first State of the Union address, President George W. Bush told Americans tonight that “our war against terror is only beginning” and sent new warnings to terrorists around the world and to three nations — Iran, Iraq and North Korea — states which he said constitute “an axis of evil.” Continue reading President George W. Bush targets ‘axis of evil’ in State of the Union address 20 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jan 29 2002) →

Ray Conniff singer urges President Nixon to ‘stop the killing’ during White House performance 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jan 28 1972)

1970s, Popular Music 1970s, U.S. Presidents, Vietnam War


Video: ‘Nixon Protest Featuring the Ray Conniff Singers | This is the President’

(Friday, January 28, 1972, 10:50 p.m. EST; during the Vietnam War, part of the Indochina Wars and the Cold War) — A young woman in a singing group caused an embarrassed moment at a formal White House dinner tonight when she waved a placard and called to President Richard Nixon to stop the bombing in Vietnam. Continue reading Ray Conniff singer urges President Nixon to ‘stop the killing’ during White House performance 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jan 28 1972) →

G. Gordon Liddy proposes a series of criminal acts to disrupt political opposition to President Richard Nixon’s re-election 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jan 27 1972)

1970s, U.S. Presidents, Watergate


Video: 'WATERGATE AFFAIR BBC DOKUMENTATION 1994' (Operation Gemstone at 29:16)

(Thursday, January 27, 1972, 11:00 a.m. EST; during the Watergate Scandal) — G. Gordon Liddy, Finance Counsel for the Committee for the Re-Election of the President (CRP, but often mocked by the acronym CREEP), presented Operation Gemstone, a $1 million campaign intelligence plan that involved a series of clandestine or illegal acts against political opponents of President Richard Nixon’s re-election. Continue reading G. Gordon Liddy proposes a series of criminal acts to disrupt political opposition to President Richard Nixon’s re-election 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jan 27 1972) →