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JFK gets inaugurated
John F. Kennedy is inaugurated as the thirty-fifth President of the United States. He was the youngest and first Roman Catholic to hold office. -
Kennedy accomplished a campaign pledge
He also issues an executive order creating a temporary Peace Corps and asks Congress to authorize the program permanently. He appoints Sargent Shriver to head the organization. -
First man in space
Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becomes the first man in space. Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin was a Russian Soviet pilot and cosmonaut. He was the first human to journey into outer space, when his Vostok spacecraft completed an orbit of the Earth on 12 April 1961. -
A U.S.-sponsored invasion of Cuba at the Bay of Pigs
A U.S.-sponsored invasion of Cuba at the Bay of Pigs fails. With inadequate support and facing an overwhelming force, the CIA-trained brigade of anti-Castro exiles is defeated in a few days. Kennedy takes responsibility for the disaster. -
Black and white youths supported by the Congress of Racial Equality
Black and white youths supported by the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) set out on the “freedom rides” to test the enforcement of ICC rules against discrimination in interstate travel. -
Alan Sheppard Jr. becomes the first American in space.
Alan Sheppard Jr. becomes the first American in space. Alan Sheppard Jr. becomes the first American in space. -
In an address to Congress, Kennedy pledges...
President John F. Kennedy in an address to Congress challenged the nation to “commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon.” He asked Congress to find additional funds to support the nation's space program.
President Kennedy was committed to an aggressive space program. The Soviet Union had surpassed the United States in the space race by launching Sputnik, an artificial satellite, in 1957. -
Kennedy meets with Soviet premier Nikita S. Khrushchev in Vienna.
The conference fails to resolve conflict over the status of Berlin. Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev was a politician who led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. -
East Germany, supported by the Soviet Union
East Germany, supported by the Soviet Union, begins construction of the Berlin Wall, halting the flow of refugees to the West. East Germany began constructing a wall between the two sections of Berlin. The city, surrounded by Soviet-supported East Germany, had remained divided between the Soviet Union, the United States, Britain, and France since the end of World War II. -
The Geneva conference
The Geneva conference, with the United States, Soviet Union, and the United Kingdom participating, adjourns without reaching an agreement on a nuclear test ban. -
Kennedy halts virtually all trade with Cuba.
The United States embargo against Cuba (in Cuba called el bloqueo, "the blockade") is a commercial, economic, and financial embargo imposed by the United States on Cuba. ... On February 7, 1962 the embargo was extended to include almost all imports. -
The U.S. Supreme Court rules that segregation..
The U.S. Supreme Court rules that segregation in transportation facilities is unconstitutional. -
Astronaut John Glenn
Astronaut John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit the earth. -
Kennedy announces the reduction of U.S. import
Kennedy announces the reduction of U.S. import duties as part of an agreement to promote international trade. -
Tom Hayden presents the “Port Huron Statement”
Tom Hayden presents the “Port Huron Statement” to the annual convention of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) at Port Huron, Michigan. The Port Huron Statement is a 1962 political manifesto of the North American student activist movement Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). -
The U.S. Supreme Court orders the University of Mississippi
The U.S. Supreme Court orders the University of Mississippi to admit James H. Meredith, its first African-American student. After Governor Ross Barnett attempts to block the admission, U.S. Marshals escort Meredith to campus while Federalized national guardsmen maintain order. -
Kennedy is informed
Kennedy is informed of the existence of Soviet missile installations in Cuba. -
: Kennedy addresses the American people
Kennedy addresses the American people about the situation in Cuba and orders a navel quarantine of Cuba to prevent further shipments of weapons. -
After thirteen days
After thirteen days, the Cuban Missile Crisis is resolved. The United States will pledge not to invade Cub (and secretly agrees to remove missiles from Turkey), in exchange for the removal of the Soviet weapons. -
Kennedy lifts the naval blockade
Kennedy lifts the naval blockade in Cuba. A blockade is an effort to cut off supplies, war material or communications from a particular area by force, either in part or totally. A blockade should not be confused with an embargo or sanctions, which are legal barriers to trade. -
Jack Ruby shoots and kills Lee Harvey Oswald.
Jack Leon Ruby was an American, originally from Chicago, Illinois, who lived in Dallas, Texas where he owned a nightclub.
Lee Harvey Oswald was an American former U.S. Marine who was arrested for the assassination of United States President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963. -
The Supreme Court rules in Gideon v. Wainwright
The Supreme Court rules in Gideon v. Wainwright that states must supply counsel in criminal cases for individuals who cannot afford it. Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335, is a landmark case in United States Supreme Court history. In it, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that states are required under the Sixth Amendment to the U.S. -
Martin Luther King Jr
Martin Luther King Jr leads a civil rights drive in Birmingham, Alabama. Police Commissioner Eugene “Bull” Connor orders the police to use fire hoses and dogs on demonstrators. -
Speaking in West Berlin
Speaking in West Berlin, Kennedy demonstrates his solidarity with the city, declaring “Ich bin ein Berliner.” ("I am a Berliner") -
The March on Washington
The March on Washington attracts 250,000 demonstrators to the nation's capital in support of civil rights legislation. At the Lincoln Memorial, Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his “I Have a Dream” speech. -
Four young African-American girls
Four young African-American girls are killed in the bombing of a church in Birmingham, Alabama. -
Kennedy signs a limited nuclear test-ban treaty
Kennedy signs a limited nuclear test-ban treaty with the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom. -
South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem
South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem is assassinated in U.S.-supported coup. -
Kennedy is assassinated
Kennedy is assassinated while riding in a motorcade in Dallas, Texas. Lee Harvey Oswald is arrested and accused of the crime. Vice President Lyndon Baines Johnson is sworn in as the thirty-sixth President of the United States following the assassination. -
Kennedy is buried
Kennedy is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
