Category Archives: U.S. Presidents

President Harry S. Truman sets sail for U.S. following Potsdam Conference 80 years ago this hour (Aug 2 1945)

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

Video: 'The World At War Episode 24 HD - The Bomb (February – September 1945)' (August 2, 1945, at 34:10)

(Thursday, August 2, 1945, 3:49 p.m. British Double Summer Time; during World War II) — President Harry S. Truman set sail from Plymouth, England, for the U.S. this afternoon aboard the USS Augusta following the 17-day Potsdam Conference with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin in Potsdam, occupied Germany. Continue reading President Harry S. Truman sets sail for U.S. following Potsdam Conference 80 years ago this hour (Aug 2 1945) →

U.S. President Gerald Ford bids nations live up to spirit of Helsinki Accords 50 years ago this hour (Aug 1 1975)

1970s, U.S. Presidents

Video: 'President Ford's Address to the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE)'

(Friday, August 1, 1975, 10:03-10:30 a.m. Eastern European Time) — U.S. President Gerald Ford, declaring that the 35-nation Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe held in Helsinki, Finland, will be judged “not by the promises we make but by the promises we keep,” joined leaders of the Soviet Union and 33 other nations today in affirming a broad charter for European security, human rights and East-West contacts.

Former U.S. President Andrew Johnson, 66, dies in Elizabethton, Tennessee 150 years ago this hour (July 31 1875)

1870s, U.S. Presidents


Video: 'Andrew Johnson: The President Who Wasn’t Lincoln | 5-Minute Videos
'

(Tuesday, July 31, 1875, 2:00 a.m. local time) — Former President Andrew Johnson, who had recently returned to national office as a United States Senator, died early this morning after suffering a second stroke at his daughter’s home near Elizabethton, Tennessee. He was 66. Continue reading Former U.S. President Andrew Johnson, 66, dies in Elizabethton, Tennessee 150 years ago this hour (July 31 1875) →

U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signs Medicare bill 60 years ago this hour (July 30 1965)

1960s, U.S. Presidents


Video: 'July 30, 1965 | LBJ Signs Medicare Bill'

(Friday, July 30, 1965, 2:55 p.m. CDT) — U.S. President Lyndon Johnson flew to Independence, Missouri, today and signed into law Medicare, a national social insurance program for Americans aged 65 and older who have worked and paid into the system, in a moving tribute to former President Harry S. Truman. Continue reading U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signs Medicare bill 60 years ago this hour (July 30 1965) →

Gerald Ford becomes first U.S. president to visit Auschwitz concentration camp 50 years ago this hour (July 29 1975)

1970s, The Holocaust, U.S. Presidents


Video: 'SYND 30 7 75 FORD VISITS AUSCHWITZ'

(Tuesday, July 29, 1975, 10:15 a.m. Central European Time) — President Gerald R. Ford today became the first U.S. president to visit the site of the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland.

Korean War Veterans Memorial dedicated 30 years ago today (July 27 1995)

1990s, U.S. Presidents


Video: 'Korean War Veterans Memorial was dedicated in 1995'

(Thursday, July 27, 1995, 2:30-3:30 p.m. EDT) — The Korean War Veterans Memorial was dedicated today (on the 42nd anniversary of the armistice that ended the fighting) in Washington by U.S. President Bill Clinton and South Korean President Kim Young-sam. Continue reading Korean War Veterans Memorial dedicated 30 years ago today (July 27 1995) →

Japan warned to surrender or face ‘prompt and utter destruction’ 80 years ago this hour (July 26 1945)

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


Video: '26th July 1945: The Potsdam Declaration demand the unconditional surrender of Japan'

(Thursday, July 26, 1945, 9:30 p.m. CEST; during Potsdam Conference of World War II) — U.S. President Harry S. Truman, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Chinese leader Chiang Kai-shek today issued the Potsdam Declaration, which called upon Imperial Japan to unconditionally surrender, or face “prompt and utter destruction.’ Continue reading Japan warned to surrender or face ‘prompt and utter destruction’ 80 years ago this hour (July 26 1945) →

British PM Churchill resigns after Labour landslide 80 years ago this hour (July 26 1945)

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


Video: 'Labour's Landslide Election Win (1945)'

(Thursday, July 26, 1945, Churchill left 10 Downing St. for Buckingham Palace to tender his resignation to King George VI at 7:00 p.m. and returned as “former Prime Minister” at 7:30 p.m. British Summer Time; during World War II) — Winston Churchill, who led Britain during World War II and currently represents his nation at the Potsdam Conference with U.S. President Harry S. Truman and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, resigned as Britain’s prime minister tonight after his Conservatives were soundly defeated by the Labour Party; Clement Attlee succeeded him.

President Truman orders atomic bombs be dropped on Japan 80 years ago this hour (July 25 1945)

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


Video: 'Peter Jennings - Hiroshima: Why the Bomb was Dropped (1995)' (July 25, 1945, at 54:18)

(Wednesday, July 25, 1945, 5:15-7:30 p.m. CEST; during World War II) — U.S. President Harry S. Truman today gave control of the atomic bombs to the military, which ordered that they be used as soon as the Potsdam Conference was over (click here for a clip of this event from “American Experience: Truman” at 2:06:32). Continue reading President Truman orders atomic bombs be dropped on Japan 80 years ago this hour (July 25 1945) →

Truman drops hint to Stalin about atomic bomb 80 years ago this hour (July 24 1945)

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


Video: 'Peter Jennings - Hiroshima: Why the Bomb was Dropped (1995)' (July 24, 1945, at 52:15)

(Tuesday, July 24, 1945, 5:15-7:30 p.m. CEST; during World War II) — At some point during a session of the Potsdam Conference tonight, U.S. President Harry S. Truman rose from his chair and walked slowly around the table to have a private word with Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, casually mentioning that “we had a new weapon of unusual destructive force,” Truman later wrote. Continue reading Truman drops hint to Stalin about atomic bomb 80 years ago this hour (July 24 1945) →