1963

Today in History 06/16 (First Woman in Space)

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Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space, in front of the Vostok 6 capsule, June 1963 (© Sovfoto/UIG/Getty Images)(1963) Soviet cosmonaut is the first woman in space
Born into a decidedly earthbound proletariat family in rural Russia, Valentina Tereshkova has been chosen from over 400 applicants to become the world’s first woman in space. She will orbit Earth 48 times on a flight lasting almost three days, and parachute into re-entry at 20,000 feet.
Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova is a retired Russian cosmonaut, engineer, and politician. She is the first woman to have flown in space, having been selected from more than 400 applicants and five finalists to pilot Vostok 6 on 16 June 1963.
Born: Mar 06, 1937 (age 81) · Bolshoye Maslennikovo, Russia
Nationality: Russian
Spouse: Yuli Shaposhnikov · Andriyan Nikolayev (m. 1963 – 1982)
Children: Elena Andrianovna Nikolaeva-Tereshkova (Daughter)
Space missions: Vostok 6
Movies: Mercury 13
Highlights
  • 1962: On 16 February 1962, Valentina Tereshkova was selected to join the female cosmonaut corps.

  • 1963: She is the first woman to have flown in space, having been selected from more than 400 applicants and five finalists to pilot Vostok 6 on 16 June 1963.

  • 1963: In September 1963, Tereshkova donated a silver cup at the women’s 1963 European Rowing Championships held in Khimki near Moscow for the most successful nation, which went to the team from the Soviet Union as they won gold in all five boat classes.

  • 1963: Valentina Tereshkova married Andriyan Nikolayev on November 03, 1963; their marriage lasted 19 years till 1982.

  • 1997: In 1997, London-based electronic pop group Komputer released a song entitled “Valentina” which gives a more-or-less direct account of her career as a cosmonaut.

  • 1997: In 1997, she was retired from the Russian Air Force and the cosmonaut corps by presidential order.

Nikita Khrushchev, Valentina Tereshkova, Pavel Popovich and Yury Gagarin at Lenin Mausoleum
From left to right: Yuri Gagarin, Pavel Popovich, Valentina Tereshkova, and Nikita Khrushchev at the Lenin Mausoleum, during a celebration honoring the Soviet cosmonauts, 1963
wiki/Valentina_Tereshkova
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(1963) Soviet cosmonaut is the first woman in space.
Also on this day,
1884 | A new thrill ride debuts at Coney Island
A nickel gets you on Coney Island’s Switchback Railway, a new amusement park ride carrying passengers on an undulating railroad track at up to 6 mph, running a length of 600 feet and an overall drop of 43 feet. America’s first roller coaster will be a hit, spawning ever-bigger thrills.
1911 | Early computing companies merge to form a tech powerhouse
Charles Flint founds the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (C-T-R) after merging smaller specialized firms, some of which got their start inventing new computing technology to tabulate the 1890 US Census. C-T-R will be renamed International Business Machines (IBM) in 1924.
1967 | The counterculture comes together for music at Monterey
Kicking off the Summer of Love, the Monterey Pop Festival will blow everyone’s minds with a roster of new rock stars including The Who, Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane, and soul superstar Otis Redding. A young guitarist, Jimi Hendrix, will literally be the show’s hottest act.

Today in History 11/25/17

John F. Kennedy, Jr., salutes his father's casket during the funeral procession of President John F. Kennedy in Washington, DC, in 1963 (© Universal History Archive/Getty Images)(1963) John F. Kennedy is buried at Arlington National Cemetery
President Kennedy is laid to rest three days after his assassination in Dallas. Thousands line the streets of Washington, DC, to watch Kennedy’s casket pass by on a horse-drawn caisson. During the solemn procession, Kennedy’s 3-year-old son John Jr. steps forward and salutes his father a final time.

The state funeral of John F. Kennedy, 35th President of the United States, took place in Washington, D.C., during the three days that followed his assassination on Friday, November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas.

The body of President Kennedy was brought back to Washington soon after his death and was placed in the East Room of the White House for 24 hours. On the Sunday after the assassination, his flag-draped coffin was carried on a horse-drawn caisson to the U.S. Capitol to lie in state. Throughout the day and night, hundreds of thousands lined up to view the guarded casket.

Representatives from over 90 countries attended the state funeral on Monday, November 25. After the Requiem Mass at St. Matthew’s Cathedral, the late president was buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.


JFK's family leaves Capitol after his funeral, 1963
Robert Kennedy and Patricia Kennedy Lawford following Jacqueline Kennedy as she leaves the United States Capitol with John F. Kennedy, Jr. and Caroline Kennedy, after viewing John F. Kennedy lying in state.

wiki/State_funeral_of_John_F._Kennedy
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Today in History 11/24/17

Lee Harvey Oswald reacts as Jack Ruby, foreground, shoots him in a corridor of Dallas police headquarters, November 24, 1963 (Dall© as Times-Herald, Bob Jackson/AP)(1963) Jack Ruby kills accused assassin Lee Harvey Oswald
Dallas nightclub owner Ruby fires a single shot and mortally wounds Oswald as police move the accused assassin through a basement in front of gathered press and witnesses. The entire incident is captured on live TV. Oswald had been in custody for the murder of President John F. Kennedy two days before.
Jack RubyJack Leon Ruby was the Dallas, Texas nightclub owner who fatally shot Lee Harvey Oswald on November 24, 1963, while Oswald was in police custody after being charged with assassinating U.S. President John F. Kennedy and murder of Dallas policeman J. D. Tippit two days earlier. A Dallas jury found him guilty of murdering Oswald, and he was sentenced to death. Ruby’s conviction was later appealed, and he was granted a new trial. However, on January 3, 1967, as the date for his new trial was being set, Ruby became ill in his prison cell and died of a pulmonary embolism from lung cancer.
Born: Mar 25, 1911 · Chicago, IL
Died: Jan 03, 1967 · Dallas, TX
Buried: Westlawn Cemetery
Related movies: JFK
Siblings: Marion Rubenstein (Sister) · Earl Rubenstein (Brother) · Eileen Rubenstein (Sister) · Sam Rubenstein (Brother) · Hyman Rubenstein (Brother) · Ann Rubenstein (Sister) · Eva Rubenstein (Sister)
Highlights
  • 1911: Jack Ruby was born Jacob Leon Rubenstein on March 25, 1911 in Chicago as the son of Joseph Rubenstein (1871–1958) and Fannie Turek Rutkowski (or Rokowsky), both Polish-born, Orthodox Jews.

  • 1946: In 1946, Tony Accardo allegedly asked Jack Ruby to go to Texas with Mafia associates Pat Manno and Romie Nappi to make sure that Dallas County Sheriff Steve Gutherie would acquiesce to the Mafia’s expansion into Dallas.

  • 1963: On November 24, 1963, he fatally shot Lee Harvey Oswald while the latter was in police custody after being charged with assassinating U.S. President John F. Kennedy two days earlier.

  • 1963: Joe Campisi and his wife visited with Jack Ruby in jail for ten minutes on November 30, 1963.

  • 1966: Eventually, the appellate court agreed with Ruby’s lawyers for a new trial, and on October 5, 1966, ruled that his motion for a change of venue before the original trial court should have been granted.

  • 1967: Ruby died of a pulmonary embolism, secondary to bronchogenic carcinoma (lung cancer), on January 3, 1967, at Parkland Hospital, the same facility where Oswald had died and where President Kennedy had been pronounced dead after his assassination.

Ruby about to shoot Oswald who is being escorted by Dallas police detectives Jim Leavelle and L. C. Graves.

wiki/Jack_Ruby
Lee Harvey OswaldLee Harvey Oswald was an American former Marine and Marxist who assassinated United States President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963. According to four federal government investigations and one municipal investigation, Oswald shot and killed Kennedy from a sniper’s nest as the President traveled by motorcade through Dealey Plaza in the city of Dallas, Texas.
Lived: Oct 18, 1939 – Nov 24, 1963 (age 24)
Height: 5′ 9″ (1.75 m)
Spouse: Marina Oswald Porter (m. 1961 – 1963)
Children: Audrey Marina Rachel Oswald (Daughter) · June Lee Oswald (Daughter)
Buried: Rose Hill Cemetery
Highlights
  • 1955: As a teenager in 1955, Oswald attended Civil Air Patrol meetings in New Orleans.

  • 1956: In July 1956, Oswald’s mother moved the family to Fort Worth, Texas, and Oswald re-enrolled in the 10th grade for the September session at Arlington Heights High School in Fort Worth.

  • 1956: Like all Marines, Oswald was trained and tested in shooting and he scored 212 in December 1956, slightly above the requirements for the designation of sharpshooter.

  • 1961: From approximately June 1960 to February 1961, Oswald had a personal relationship with Ella German, a co-worker at the factory.

  • 1961: Lee Harvey Oswald married Marina Oswald Porter on April 30, 1961.

  • 1962: He lived in the Belarusian city of Minsk until June 1962, at which time he returned to the United States with Marina, his Russian-born wife, eventually settling in Dallas.


Lee Harvey Oswald being shot by Jack Ruby as Oswald is being moved by police, 1963

wiki/Lee_Harvey_Oswald
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Today in History 11/22/17

President and Mrs. John F. Kennedy smile at the crowds lining their motorcade route in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963 (© Corbis)(1963) President John F. Kennedy shot and killed in Dallas
A sniper kills John F. Kennedy, the 35th US president, as his motorcade wends through Dallas, Texas. Kennedy’s wife, Jacqueline, and the Texas governor are traveling with him. Lee Harvey Oswald will soon be arrested for the shooting, but will be shot and killed himself shortly thereafter.
John F. Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States, was assassinated on Friday, November 22, 1963 at 12:30 p.m. in Dallas, Texas while riding in a presidential motorcade in Dealey Plaza. Kennedy was riding with his wife Jacqueline, Texas Governor John Connally, and Connally’s wife, Nellie, and was fatally shot by former U.S. Marine Lee Harvey Oswald. A ten-month investigation by the Warren Commission from November 1963 to September 1964 concluded that Oswald acted alone in shooting Kennedy, and that Jack Ruby also acted alone when he killed Oswald before he could stand trial. Kennedy’s death marked the fourth and most recent assassination of an American President. Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson automatically became President upon Kennedy’s death.
Date: Nov 22, 1963

JFK limousine
Picture of President Kennedy in the limousine in Dallas, Texas, on Main Street, minutes before the assassination. Also in the presidential limousine are Jackie Kennedy, Texas Governor John Connally, and his wife, Nellie.
wiki/Assassination_of_John_F._Kennedy
British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher leaves her 10 Downing Street residence in London, November 22, 1990 for Buckingham Palace to inform Queen Elizabeth II of her decision to resign (© Gillian Allen/AP)(1990) Margaret Thatcher resigns as prime minister of Britain
Having served 11 years as prime minister, Margaret Thatcher quits after losing the support of her cabinet in a run-off election for the leadership of the Conservative Party. The ‘Iron Lady,’ so nicknamed for her tough demeanor, was Britain’s first female prime minister.
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, LG, OM, PC, FRS, FRIC was a British stateswoman who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the longest-serving British prime minister of the 20th century and the first woman to have been appointed. A Soviet journalist dubbed her the “Iron Lady”, a nickname that became associated with her uncompromising politics and leadership style. As Prime Minister, she implemented policies that have come to be known as Thatcherism.
Lived: Oct 13, 1925 – Apr 08, 2013 (age 87)
Height: 5′ 5″ (1.66 m)
Spouse: Denis Thatcher (m. 1951 – 2003)
Children: Mark Thatcher (Son) · Carol Thatcher (Daughter)
Related movies: The Iron Lady
Party: Conservative Party
Highlights
  • 1951: During the campaigns, she was supported by her parents and by Denis Thatcher, whom she married in December 1951.

  • 1979: Thatcher became Prime Minister on 4 May 1979.

  • 1989: Thatcher was challenged for the leadership of the Conservative Party by the little-known backbench MP Sir Anthony Meyer in the 1989 leadership election.

  • 1990: On 1 November 1990, Geoffrey Howe, the last remaining member of Thatcher’s original 1979 cabinet, resigned from his position as Deputy Prime Minister over her refusal to agree to a timetable for Britain to join the European Exchange Rate Mechanism.

  • 2005: Upon leaving the House of Commons, Thatcher became the first former Prime Minister to set up a foundation; the British wing of the Margaret Thatcher Foundation was dissolved in 2005 because of financial difficulties.

  • 2013: In 2013, she died of another stroke in London, at the age of 87.


Thatcher reviews troops
Thatcher reviews Royal Bermuda Regiment troops, 1990

wiki/Margaret_Thatcher
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Today in History 11/02/17

President Ngo Dinh Diem (© AP)(1963) A presidential assassination sends Vietnam into chaos
Ngo Dinh Diem had been president of South Vietnam since 1955 and enjoyed US support until his strong-armed tactics, particularly against Buddhists, soured the relationship, and now a US-backed coup has brought him down. Vietnam will erupt into civil war following his assassination.
The arrest and assassination of Ngô Đình Diệm, the president of South Vietnam, marked the culmination of a successful CIA-backed coup d’état led by General Dương Văn Minh in November 1963. On 2 November 1963, Diệm and his adviser, his younger brother Ngô Đình Nhu, were arrested after the Army of the Republic of Vietnam had been successful in a bloody overnight siege on Gia Long Palace in Saigon. The coup was the culmination of nine years of autocratic and nepotistic family rule in South Vietnam. Discontent with the Diệm regime had been simmering below the surface, and exploded with mass Buddhist protests against long-standing religious discrimination after the government shooting of protesters who defied a ban on the flying of the Buddhist flag.
Corpse of Ngô Đình Diệm in the 1963 coup
The corpse of Ngô Đình Diệm in the back of the APC, having been executed on the way to military headquarters

wiki/Arrest_and_assassination_of_Ngo_Dinh_Diem
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