BATTLE AT SHILOH CHURCH IN TENNESSEE

April 6, 1862


BATTLE AT SHILOH CHURCH IN TENNESSEE


Federal forces under General Ulysses S. Grant came under attack today at Shiloh Church near Pittsburg Landing in western Tennessee.


Grant’s forces captured Forts Henry & Donelson in February & made their way southward along the Tennessee River.


Confederate troops under Generals Albert Sidney Johnston & PGT Beauregard launched a surprise attack and by the end of the day had driven Grant’s forces back to the river.


It is reported, however, that General Johnston was badly wounded in the leg during the afternoon & bled to death on the battlefield.  If this report is accurate, the death of Johnston will be a bitter blow to the Rebels despite having the advantage at the end of the day.


Fighting at Shiloh is expected to continue tomorrow.*


*The 2 day battle at Shiloh was fought to a tactical draw but because Confederate forces retreated back into Mississippi, many military historians see it as a Union victory.  The Battle of Shiloh will be known as the “Bloodiest Battle of the Civil War.”

        Battle of Shioh or Pittsburg Landing
        April 6 & 7, 1862


April 6, 1841


JOHN TYLER SWORN IN AS PRESIDENT


John Tyler officially became the 10th President of the United States today as he was sworn in to office.


Tyler, a Virginian who supports states rights & slavery, is the 1st Vice-President to assume the office of the Presidency on the death of the President.


William Henry Harrison, the 9th President, died of pneumonia after only about a month in office.


Tyler, a life-long Democratic-Republican, joined with the Whigs in 1840 & became the new party’s nominee for Vice-President.


After being sworn in as Vice-President in Washington, D.C., Tyler returned to his home in Williamsburg, Virginia.  It was there that he received word of the death of Harrison.*


*Tyler proved to be unpopular within the Whig Party & would not be nominated for President in 1844.  He was sometimes referred to as “His Accidency”.

April 6, 1830


CHURCH OF CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS FOUNDED


Today in Fayette Township, New York, Joseph Smith, Jr. established the Church of Christ of Latter Day Saints, also known as the Mormon Church.


The church is based on the Book of Mormon, said to be originally engraved in Hebrew on gold plates & translated by Smith.*


*Mormons later set up communities in Ohio, Missouri & Illinois.

        The Book of Mormon (1830)


April 6, 1963


US WILL RENEW PATROL OF FLORIDA WATERS


The New York Times reported today that the United States government will direct a renewed effort to patrol the waters south of Florida to prevent provocative acts by anti-Castro raiders.*


*Anti-Castro Cubans in the United States, many residing in Miami, remained upset about the failure of the Bay of Pigs invasion of April 1961 & were undertaking action against Castro independent of the US government’s support.


April 6, 1965


NATIONAL SECURITY MEMO 328


On this date, LBJ’s National Security adviser, McGeorge Bundy, issued on his behalf, National Security Memorandum 328.


The memo, drafted & signed by Bundy, authorizes US forces to take the offensive in South Vietnam “to secure enclaves” in support of South Vietnamese operations.


The memo represents a shift in policy in that previously all US military operations in South Vietnam were defensive in nature.

                  
                McGeorge Bundy

TRANSPORTATION POLICY

 April 5, 1962


JFK CALLS TRANSPORTATION POLICY “CHAOTIC”


President Kennedy said today that America’s national transportation policy is a “chaotic patchwork of inconsistent & often obsolete legislation”.


JFK asked Congress for a new national transportation policy that would emphasize less federal regulation & provide federal aid for mass transit systems in major cities.


Under JFK’s proposal, railroads & trucking companies could cut rates on bulk commodities & railroads, airlines & bus companies could lower passenger fares all without approval from the federal government.


While JFK admits the cost of this proposed new transportation program will be high, he said:


“We must begin to make the painful decisions necessary to provide the transportation system required by the United States of today & tomorrow.”

     Greyhound Bus Station
     Jackson, Tennessee
     Photo by John White (2011)


April 5, 1961


KENNEDY & MACMILLAN DISCUSS SE ASIA


President Kennedy & British PM, Harold Macmillan, met today to discuss the deteriorating situation in Southeast Asia.


They also discussed other issues concerning cooperation of their two countries in foreign policy.

     Prime Minister Harold Macmillan


April 5, 1968


JAMES BROWN CONCERT KEEPS PEACE IN BOSTON


The leaders of Boston’s city government considered cancelling tonight’s James Brown concert at the Boston Garden following a night of riots & protests in the aftermath of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Memphis, Tennessee.


Tom Atkins, a city councilman who is African-American, suggested going ahead with the concert which would also be televised in the area “live”.  His suggestion was approved.


As a result, Boston saw less crime than under normal circumstances.  


Brown’s concert, planned long in advance, was dedicated to the memory of Dr. King.

James Brown at the Boston Garden 
April 5, 1968


April 5, 1969


100 THOUSAND ANTI-WAR PROTESTERS MARCH


100,000 anti-war demonstrators marched in New York City today demanding the United States withdraw from Vietnam.


The protesters included members of the National Mobilization Committee, the Student Mobilization Committee & the Socialist Workers Party.


Pacifist Quakers also held sit-ins at draft boards.*


*The weekend of anti-war protests ended with demonstrations & parades in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C. & other cities.

April 5, 1955


WINSTON CHURCHILL RESIGNS AS PM


Sir Winston Churchill, who led Great Britain to victory in WWII, resigned today as Prime Minister.*


*After his retirement as PM, Churchill continued to serve in Parliament until 1964.

       Sir Winston Spencer Churchill


April 5, 1792


WASHINGTON EXERCISES VETO POWER


The Constitution of the United States gives the President of the United States the power to veto laws passed by the Congress of the United States but until now that power had never been exercised.


President George Washington, whose every administrative move sets a precedent, used his veto for the 1st time today.


The bill sent to him passed by both houses of Congress would have set up a new plan for dividing seats in the House of Representatives that would increase the number of seats for northern states.


The President, counseled by his cabinet, believed the legislation to be unconstitutional.*


*The Congress did not even attempt to override the veto but instead submitted a new bill that apportioned representatives at “the ratio of 1 for every 33,000 persons in the respective states”.

George Washington by Gilbert Stuart (1797)


April 5, 1614


JOHN ROLFE & POCAHONTAS MARRY


With the blessings of both the governor of Virginia & Chief Powhatan, English tobacco planter John Rolfe married the daughter of the chief, Pocahontas, today in Jamestown.


There is widespread hope that this marriage will bring peace in the colony.*


*Pocahontas gave birth to their 1st child, Thomas & in 1617, while visiting London, died of  smallpox.  She is buried at the parish church of St. George in Gravesend, England.

     Pocahontas Statue 
    Gravesend, England

MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. KILLED IN MEMPHIS

April 4, 1968


MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. KILLED IN MEMPHIS


Civil Rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot & killed today as he stood on the balcony outside his room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee.

Dr. King & Associates on the balcony before the shooting




A single rifle bullet struck Dr. King in the jaw & severed his spinal cord.


Dr. King, 39 years old, was pronounced dead after arrival at a Memphis hospital.


After the shooting, police found a 30-06 Remington hunting rifle on the sidewalk beside a rooming house about a block from the Lorraine.


Dr. King, Dr. Ralph Abernathy & several other King associates were preparing to go to dinner at the home of Rev. Billy Kyles of Memphis.


Several of Dr. King’s associates heard the gunshot & indicated it came from the rear of a boarding house across the street from the motel.

King’s associates point toward the direction of the shot


*I had the opportunity to talk with Rev. Kyles a few years back during a workshop at the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis which was originally the Lorraine Motel.  I asked him what kind of personal security Dr. King had in Memphis.  I found his answer shocking.


Rev. Kyles said Dr. King had no personal security in Memphis.  


Normally he would have had a man with him but because the man did not like to fly & because Dr. King had flown to Memphis, the man was not there at the time of the shooting.

                         Rev. Billy Kyles

        John White & Rev.Billy Kyles 

      John White at the Lorraine Motel 


April 4, 1961


JFK ATTENDS FOREIGN POLICY CONFERENCE


President Kennedy attended a conference on foreign policy which was hosted by the U.S. State Department today.


JFK spoke to the delegates & afterward took their questions.

April 4, 1949


NATO PACT IS SIGNED


The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a mutual defense agreement aimed at containing communism in Europe, was created today.


The United States along with Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Great Britain, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway & Portugal are now NATO member nations.


The representatives of these countries agreed:


“An attack against one NATO member shall be considered an attack against all.”

     President Truman Signs NATO PACT


April 4, 1928


MAYA ANGELOU’S BIRTHDAY


Poet & novelist, Maya Angelou, was born on this date in St. Louis, Missouri.


She won a role in the musical “Porgy & Bess” & toured 22 countries in 1954 & 1955.


In the early 1960s, Angelou lived in Ghana where she worked at The African Review.


In 1981, she became a Professor of American Studies at Wake Forest University.


Of her many successful poems, the one that is perhaps best known is the poem she wrote & read at the 1993 Inauguration of Bill Clinton titled “On the Pulse of Morning”.


Following is the last part of the poem.


“Here on the pulse of this new day
You may have the grace to look up and out
And into your sister’s eyes,
Into your brother’s face, your country
And say simply
Very simply
With hope
Good morning.”

Maya Angelou Reading Her Poem
January 20, 1993


This quote appeared in today’s Knoxville News-Sentinel:


“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”


Maya Angelou
American poet


April 4, 1841


PRESIDENT HARRISON DEAD OF PNEUMONIA


William Henry Harrison, President of the United States for only 32 days, died of pneumonia today.


On the evening of March 4, after giving a 1 hour & 45 minute inaugural speech in bitterly cold weather, President Harrison went to bed with a cold.


Eventually the cold turned into pneumonia which caused the President’s death today.


Harrison was a hero of the Indian Wars earning the nickname “Old Tippecanoe” because of his victory.  When he ran for President on the Whig ticket last year, his campaign slogan was “Tippecanoe & Tyler Too”. (John Tyler, his Vice-President, is now the 1st man to become President on the death of a President.)


President Harrison is survived by his wife Anna & 3 children.*


*To this day, William Henry Harrison holds the dubious distinction of having given the longest inaugural address & serving the shortest term of office.

               William Henry Harrison 

FIRST IN SPACE?

April 3, 1963


JFK SAYS “WE HAVE A CHANCE” TO BE FIRST IN SPACE


John F. Kennedy, during his campaign for the Presidency in 1960, said that America should be “first, not if or when, but first period.”


Today President Kennedy was asked at his afternoon televised news conference at the State Department Auditorium if the United States will be 1st in space & “beat the Russians to the moon”.


JFK answered by reminding the reporters that the US will not get “our new boosters until 1964, 1965 & 1966” & that “we’ll have to wait and see”.


The President did express optimism, however, that his goals in space can be accomplished:


“We are behind now and we will continue to be behind, but if we make a major effort, we have a chance, I believe, to be ahead at the end of this decade & that is where I think we ought to be.”

April 3, 1963


DESEGREGATION CAMPAIGN BEGINS IN BIRMINGHAM


Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. & other leaders of the Civil Rights Movement began today a campaign to desegregate business & public facilities in Birmingham, Alabama.


Dr. King calls Birmingham “the most segregated city in the United States”.

April 3, 1968


DR. KING SAYS “I’VE BEEN TO THE MOUNTAINTOP”


Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., speaking at the Mason Temple in Memphis, Tennessee tonight, told his audience: 


“It really doesn’t matter with me now, because I’ve been to the mountain top…”


Dr. King is in Memphis to support the city’s sanitation workers who are on strike because of low pay & poor working conditions.  


The theme of the strike, printed on their posters, is: “I AM A MAN”.


Dr. King began his speech by saying that if God had asked him what time period he would like to live in, he would have said:


“If you allow me to live just a few years in the 2nd half of the 20th Century, I will be happy.”


Dr. King went on to describe his answer to God’s question as “strange” because:


“the world is all messed up.  The nation is sick.  Trouble is in the land…but…only when it is dark enough can you see the stars.”


He would choose this era to live because “the masses are rising up around the world (&)  the cry is always the same: ‘We want to be free'”.


Dr. King concluded his emotional & moving speech with these words:


“I don’t know what will happen now.  We’ve got difficult days ahead.  But it really doesn’t matter with me now because I’ve been to the mountaintop & I’ve looked over. And I have seen the Promised Land.”


“I may not get there with you.   But….we, as a people, will get to the promised land.”*

*Dr. King’s “Mountaintop speech” is rated in the top 100 speeches of all time by “American Rhetoric”.  Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot & killed the following afternoon in Memphis.


April 3, 1948


TRUMAN SIGNS EUROPEAN RECOVERY ACT


President Harry S. Truman signed the European Recovery Act today at the White House.


The act provides for $4 billion for the rebuilding of Western Europe in the aftermath of  WWII.


Mr. Truman’s signature makes good on the proposal made by his Secretary of State, George C. Marshall, on June 5. 1947.


General Marshall, speaking at Harvard Yard,  said the US should provide billions of dollars for the stagnant economies of Western Europe.


In signing the act President Truman said:


“Few Presidents have had the opportunity to sign legislation of such importance” & described the act as “the greatest venture in constructive statesmanship that any nation has undertaken.”*

*The Marshall Plan, as it came to be known, would ultimately provide $12 billion in aid to Western Europe.  The Soviet Union denounced the enterprise & Eastern European nations either did likewise or just ignored it.


April 3, 1882


JESSE JAMES SHOT DEAD 


Jesse James, the most famous of American outlaws, was shot & killed today in St. Joseph, Missouri.

The outlaw, who was living in the town under an alias, Thomas Howard, was shot in the back of the head by Bob Ford, a member of his own gang.


The motive for the killing appears to be the reward money being offered for Jesse James “Dead or Alive”.


The shooting took place at a home rented by “Mr. Howard” who, at the time, was standing on a chair attempting to straighten a picture.


“Poor Jesse had a wife to mourn his life
An’ his children too, they were brave
But that dirty little coward shot Mr. Howard
An’ laid Jesse James in his grave.”


The Ballad of Jesse James
by Billy Gashade (1882)

JFK SPENDS EASTER AT PALM BEACH

April 2, 1961


JFK SPENDS EASTER AT PALM BEACH


President & Mrs. Kennedy along with Caroline & John celebrated Easter today at the “Summer White House” in Palm Beach, Florida.


The estate at Palm Beach was purchased by JFK’s father, Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. in 1933.


This morning the Kennedy family attended Easter mass at St. Edward’s Church.


This afternoon the President was able to enjoy 14 rounds of golf at Seminole Country Club.

Former JFK Summer White House in Palm Beach


April 2, 1917


PRESIDENT WILSON ASKS FOR WAR ON GERMANY


President Woodrow Wilson, speaking to a joint session of Congress today, asked for a war declaration against Germany.


In his address, Wilson called attacks by German submarines to be “a warfare against mankind”.


The President concluded his message with these words:


“There are many months of fiery trial & sacrifice ahead….civilization seeming to be in the balance.  But the right is more precious than peace…”


“We shall fight for democracy….& make the world itself at last free.  God helping (America) can do no other.”

      Wilson Asks for War, April 2, 1917


April 2, 1917


FIRST WOMAN ELECTED TO CONGRESS TAKES A SEAT


Jeanette Rankin of Montana became the 1st woman elected to Congress to officially be seated in the House of Representatives today.


Miss Rankin, a social worker who joined the women’s suffrage movement, ran on a progressive Republican platform calling for the right to vote for women nationwide.


Congresswoman Rankin’s seating has been delayed a month as Congressmen debated whether or not a woman should be admitted to the Congress of the United States.


Miss Rankin, a known pacifist, ironically was seated on the same day President Wilson presented his war message.*


*At one point in his message, Wilson says: “It is a distressing…duty, Gentlemen of the Congress, which I have performed in this address to you.”  It would be interesting to know if the President purposely omitted mention of the Congresswoman.


On April 6, the House voted on the war declaration.  Miss Rankin was one of 50 representatives who voted against it.  Despite her vote, she helped sell Liberty Bonds to raise money for the war effort.  


For the next 20 years, Jeanette Rankin worked as a lobbyist, but in 1941 was back in the Congress to cast the only vote in opposition to a declaration of war on Japan after the attack on Pearl Harbor.


Rankin was founding Vice President of the Civil Liberties Union & also spoke out against the Korean & Vietnam Wars.  She died in 1973 at the age of 92.

               Jeannette Rankin (1917)


April 2, 1865


REBEL PRESIDENT & CONGRESS FLEE RICHMOND


With the fall of Petersburg after a long siege, the Confederate States of America’s capital city, Richmond, Virginia, fell today.


Confederate President Jefferson Davis along with his cabinet took the last open railroad line south to Danville, Virginia.


With General Robert E. Lee & his Army of Northern Virginia still in the field, Davis is hopeful of keeping the Confederate government functioning.


Retreating Rebel soldiers set fire to bridges & warehouses but the fire spread out of control leaving Richmond in flames.*


*I am currently reading James Swanson’s “Bloody Crimes: The Case For Jefferson Davis & the Death Pageant for Lincoln’s Corpse”.  This book has an excellent description of the fall of Richmond & Jeff Davis’s attempt to escape capture. The book is published by William Morrow (2010).

      Richmond in Flames, April 2, 1865


April 2, 1513


PONCE DE LEON CLAIMS FLORIDA FOR SPAIN


Today the Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon landed on the eastern coast of North America at a place he has named “La Florida” or “Land of Flowers”.*


*Some sources claim that Ponce de Leon was in search of the fabled “Fountain of Youth” which promised by drinking its water a person would become young again.  In researching this claim, I came across a very interesting article by Douglas T. Peale.  He argues that the idea that the explorer was searching for the Fountain of Youth is fiction.


The article, “Misconceptions & Myths relating to the Fountain of Youth & Juan Ponce de Leon…”,  can be found at www.pbchistoryonline.org

Ponce de Leon Claims “La Florida”

JFK CALLS FOR NATIONAL CRIME COMMISSION

April 1, 1960


JFK CALLS FOR “NATIONAL CRIME COMMISSION”


Senator John F. Kennedy, campaigning for President today in Dodgeville, Wisconsin, warned of a “powerful….dangerous & growing…organized criminal syndicate operating in America today.”


JFK recommends the establishment of a permanent “National Crime Commission” which would “investigate & gather information” about underworld activities & report it to local authorities.


April 1, 1962


JFK SENDS MESSAGE TO ASIAN EDUCATION MINISTERS


President John F. Kennedy sent a message today to Asian education ministers meeting in Tokyo, Japan.


He said in the message that Americans “share (your) vision of the revolutionary role which education can play in building strong, free & independent nations.”

April 1, 1963


KENNEDYS TAKE A TOUR OF GETTYSBURG


JFK , Mrs. Kennedy & Caroline were taken on a tour of the Gettysburg battlefield in Pennsylvania yesterday by National Park Service historian Jacob Sheads.


Along with the 1st Family for the tour were Mr. & Mrs. Paul Fay & their children.


The group drove up from Camp David, Maryland.


Mr. Sheads took the Presidential party on a tour of the battlefield’s highlights including Devil’s Den, Little Round Top, Seminary Ridge and the Wheatfield.

April 1, 1948


SOVIET TROOPS STOP TRAINS IN BERLIN


Troops of the Soviet Union stopped US military trains today traveling through the Russian zone of occupation in Berlin.


Tensions in Berlin have been high as the occupied city of Germany is divided into British, American, Russian & French zones of occupation.*


*The Soviets will attempt to blockade the free sectors of Berlin which were surrounded by communist territory in June 1948.

April 1, 1924


ADOLF HITLER SENT TO LANDSBERG PRISON


The leader of the Nazi party in Germany, Adolf Hitler, was arrested & sentenced to prison today for his role in the unsuccessful “Beer Hall Putsch”.


The attempt to take over the government failed & Hitler will pay the price for treason.*


*Hitler will be released from Landsberg after only 9 months.

April Fools Day


“The first of April, some do say,
Is set apart for All Fools’ Day
But why the people call it so,
Nor I, nor they themselves do know
But on this day are people sent
On purpose for pure merriment.”


Poor Robin’s Almanac 1790

JFK HAPPY WITH STEEL CONTRACT

March 31, 1962


JFK HAPPY WITH STEEL CONTRACT


President Kennedy, having assisted in the negotiations between the steel industry & the Steelworkers of America, was pleased to learn an agreement was reached today on a new contract.


JFK is hoping to avoid a repeat of the 1959-1960 steel strike which hurt the economy.


The President phoned leaders of both sides to offer his congratulations on the agreement.


The new contract will provide a 3% pay increase for workers which should not have an adverse effect on the economy.


JFK said:


“I am sure the nation will agree with me that the most notable aspect of this settlement is that it demonstrates the national interest can be protected & in the interest of industry & the employees forwarded through…..responsible collective bargaining.”

March 31, 1968


LBJ WILL NOT SEEK ANOTHER TERM


President Lyndon B. Johnson shocked everyone this evening with his announcement at the end of his televised address on the situation in Vietnam by saying:


“I shall not seek & I will not accept the nomination of my party for another term as your President.”


Up until the statement, LBJ had discussed Vietnam.  He announced a partial bombing halt of the North & said that he would be sending 13,500 additional troops.


Mr. Johnson has come under increasing criticism for his Vietnam War policies.

         LBJ Addresses the Nation on TV


March 31, 1943


MUSICAL “OKLAHOMA” PREMIERS ON BROADWAY


The new musical, “Oklahoma”, produced by Richard Rogers & Oscar Hammerstein II, premiers on Broadway today.


The show’s choreographer, Agnes DeMille, said the opening number ‘Oh, What a Beautiful Morning’ “produced a sigh from the entire house that I don’t think I’ve ever heard in the theater.”


Joan Roberts, who plays the lead female role “Laurie” in the performance, said:  “The applause was so deafening & it continued & continued.”*

*”Oklahoma” went on to a record 2,212 performances before closing after 15 years on Broadway.


My daughter, Jennifer, who had performed in many local plays at the Oak Ridge Playhouse, got her 1st lead role as “Laurie” in South Doyle High School’s production of “Oklahoma” in 2004.

Seth Maples (Curly) & Jennifer White (Laurie)
South Doyle High’s Production of “Oklahoma” 
John Maples, Director


Photo by John White (2004)

March 31, 1889


THE EIFFEL TOWER IS DEDICATED IN PARIS


The Eiffel Tower was dedicated today in Paris, France in a ceremony presided over by its creator Gustave Eiffel.  The Prime Minister of France, Pierre Tirard, also participated in the dedication.


The tower, the world’s tallest man made structure, is 984 feet tall.


As the tower’s elevators were not yet completed, Mr. Eiffel & some other hardy souls took the stairs to the top where they raised a huge French Tricolor on the tower’s flagpole. 

  Eiffel Tower Under Construction (1878)

JFK NAMES "WHIZZER" WHITE TO SUPREME COURT

March 30, 1962


JFK NAMES “WHIZZER” WHITE TO SUPREME COURT


President Kennedy named Byron “Whizzer” White Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court today.


Justice White, 44 years old, becomes the youngest judge to ever serve on the high court.


Byron White earned the nickname “Whizzer” as a star half back for the University of Colorado Buffaloes.  He also starred in basketball & baseball.


White, born in Fort Collins, Colorado, had also been a successful student, a Rhodes Scholar & member of Phi Beta Kappa.


In making the appointment, JFK said:


“He has excelled at everything.  And I know that he will excel on the highest court in the land.”


Ironically, during WWII, White in naval intelligence, wrote the report on the sinking of JFK’s PT109.


Before being appointed to the Supreme Court, Byron White was a Deputy Attorney General.*

     Byron White & Robert Kennedy


*White served on the Supreme Court until his retirement in 1993.  As a justice, he took a practical rather than philosophical approach to the law.  At the time of his death in 2002, White had been the last living “Warren Court” justice.

      Associate Justice Byron White


March 30, 1981


PRESIDENT REAGAN SURVIVES ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT IN WASHINGTON


Just 69 days into his Presidency, Ronald Reagan was shot today as he left a speaking engagement at the Washington Hilton Hotel.


The President & 3 others were allegedly shot by John Hinckley, Jr. who was immediately taken into custody.  Authorities have not yet determined a motive for the shooting. 


The attempt on Reagan’s life took place at 2:27 p.m. Washington time as Reagan, accompanied by aides & Secret Service agents, exited the hotel.

Reagan Waves Just Before Shooting


Six shots were fired from a Rohm RG-14 .22 caliber pistol.


Special Agent Jerry Parr of the US Secret Service pushed Reagan into the back of the Presidential car in an attempt to get him out of the line of fire while Special Agent Timothy McCarthy, placing his body in front of the President, took a bullet in the abdomen.

     Parr Pushes Reagan Into Limo


The other victims include James Brady, Reagan’s Press Secretary & Special Agent Thomas Delahanty.


President Reagan was taken to nearby George Washington University Hospital where he was attended by a surgical team headed by Dr. Joseph Giordano.


As the President was wheeled into surgery, he said “I hope you are all Republicans”.


Dr. Giordano, a self-described “old fashioned liberal Democrat” replied:  “Today, Mr. President, we are all Republicans.”


During a very tense surgery, doctors located a bullet in the President’s lung just an inch from his heart.  Thanks to the quick action by the Secret Service & the talent & training of the medical staff at George Washington University, President Reagan is expected to recover.*

    Mrs. Reagan with the President 


*Ronald Reagan is the 1st President to survive being shot in an assassination attempt.  He was hit by the 6th bullet which ricocheted off the side of the armored vehicle & entered under the left arm.  The bullet grazed a rib & lodged in a lung.


President Reagan was able to return to the Oval Office on April 25 but James Brady, who suffered a serious head injury, was left permanently disabled.  Agent Delahanty was forced to retire due to his wound.


John Hinckley was found not guilty by reason of insanity on June 1, 1992.  The motivation for his crime is said to be a fanatical obsession with actress Jodie Foster.

                     John Hinckley, Jr.


March 30, 1948


FORMER VEEP CRITICAL OF TRUMAN’S POLICIES


Henry A. Wallace, former Vice-President of the United States, & now a Progressive Party presidential candidate, testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee today.


In his testimony, Wallace said that President Truman’s call for universal military training is unnecessary & criticized Truman’s statements on how to deal with the threat of communism.

                        Henry A. Wallace


March 30, 1867


ALASKA PURCHASE TREATY SIGNED BY SEWARD


Secretary of State William Seward signed a treaty with Russia today providing for the transfer of the Alaska territory to the United States for $7.2 million.


Seward, a Lincoln appointee now serving President Andrew Johnson, is a supporter of territorial expansion.*


*The Alaska Purchase was lampooned in the press as “Seward’s Ice Box” or “Seward’s Folly”.  The treaty was ratified by a single vote on April 9, 1867.

Alaska Purchase Check for $7,200,000

FIRST LADY NAMES WHITE HOUSE CURATOR

March 29, 1961


FIRST LADY NAMES WHITE HOUSE CURATOR


Mrs. John F. Kennedy has named Lorraine Waxman Pearce of Delaware to be the 1st Curator of the White House.


Mrs. Pearce, a graduate of the Winterthur Program in Early American Culture, will work with the newly created White House Fine Arts Committee.


The 1st Lady, displeased with the lack of period furnishings in the mansion, is launching a program of restoration.  


Mrs. Kennedy wants to furnish the White House with historically correct, museum-quality pieces.


If successful, Mrs. Kennedy & Mrs. Pearce will supervise the most extensive renovation of the President’s home since following the burning of the mansion during the War of 1812.*


*Mrs. Kennedy will host a televised tour of the White House in February 1962.  On the program, the 1st Lady will show much of the work that had been done to achieve her goals.

     Mrs. Kennedy’s White House Tour


March 29, 1961


23RD AMENDMENT RATIFIED


The 23rd Amendment to the US Constitution which allows residents of the District of Columbia to vote in Presidential elections became law today with ratification by Kansas & Ohio.


“The District constituting the seat of Government of the United States shall appoint in such manner as the Congress may direct:

A number of electors of President & Vice President equal to the whole number of Senators & Representatives in Congress to which the District would be entitled if it were a State, but in no event more than the least populous State; they shall be in addition to those appointed by the States, but they shall be considered, for the purposes of the election of President & Vice President, to be electors appointed by a State; & they shall meet in the District & perform such duties as provided by the 12th…amendment.”

Tennessee ratified the amendment on March 6, 1961 but Arkansas rejected the amendment.  9 other Southern states have not ratified it.

March 29, 1962

JFK WANTS OFFICE OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY


President Kennedy has asked Congress to create an Office of Science & Technology to be headed by Special Assistant, Jerome B. Wiesner.


Wiesner’s position was created during the Eisenhower administration following the Soviet Union’s successful launching of Sputnik I.


In his request, JFK writes:


“Considering the rapid growth of federal activities in science & technology, it is imperative that the President have adequate staff support in developing policies & evaluating programs….to assure that science & technology are used more effectively…..”

March 29, 1973


LAST US COMBAT TROOPS LEAVE VIETNAM


After 8 years of direct intervention & just 2 months after the signing of a peace agreement, the last US combat troops left South Vietnam today.


7,000 Department of Defense civilian officials will remain in Vietnam to assist the South Vietnamese government.


In 1961, JFK sent the 1st large contingent of US “military advisers” to South Vietnam & his successor, LBJ, sent the 1st combat troops.  President Nixon began a withdrawal of troops but also expanded the war into Cambodia & Laos.

            Veteran at the Vietnam Wall 


March 29, 1945


PATTON’S THIRD ARMY TAKES FRANKFURT


“Old Blood & Guts”, General George S. Patton. led the 3rd US Army into Frankfurt, Germany today.


Almost one year ago, Frankfurt suffered major damage from a month of bombing by the Allied air forces.

             General George S. Patton


March 29, 1929


HOOVER GETS TELEPHONE IN THE OVAL OFFICE


Today President Herbert Hoover became the 1st US President to have a telephone installed in the Oval Office at the White House.

           Western Electric Telephone


In 1878, President Rutherford B. Hayes had the 1st telephone installed in the White House & previous to the installation today the telephone was located in the foyer outside the office.


March 29, 1806


CONGRESS OKS SURVEY FOR CUMBERLAND ROAD


The US Congress has authorized a survey for the construction of the Cumberland Road.


The proposed national road will begin in Cumberland, Maryland & pass through the Appalachian Mountains to Wheeling, Virginia.


The survey will be conducted by the Army’s Corps of Engineers which will also be responsible for construction of the road.*


*Construction begins in 1811 & is competed in 1818.  By 1850, the road is rechristened the National Road & is expanded to reach Indianapolis.

     National (Cumberland) Road Marker

BILLIE SOL ESTES FOUND GUILTY

March 28, 1963


BILLIE SOL ESTES FOUND GUILTY 


Texas cotton farmer turned millionaire & associate of Vice-President Lyndon B. Johnson was convicted today on charges of mail fraud & conspiracy.


Estes, a Democrat who made a fortune in the fertilizer & grain storage business. made contributions to LBJ’s political campaigns of the late 1950s & early 1960s.


An FBI investigation led to an April 1962 indictment of 57 counts of fraud.


Estes was accused of swindling $24 million from investors & institutions.


There is a rumor going around Washington that JFK may consider dropping LBJ from the Democratic ticket in 1964 because of his association with Billie Sol Estes.*


*Estes served 6 years of a 15 year sentence but while on parole was sent back to prison for income tax evasion for another 4 years.  His 2nd conviction was overturned, however, by the Supreme Court which ruled his constitutional rights had been violated by media coverage of his trial.

                       Billie Sol Estes


March 28, 1961


INTELLIGENCE REPORT SAYS DIEM IN TROUBLE


President Kennedy received a report today which says that the situation in South Vietnam under the leadership of President Ngo Dinh Diem is “critical”.


The reasons for the assessment include the fact that Diem narrowly survived a coup last November & more than half the area around Saigon is under the control of the communist Viet Cong.


The report is also critical of Diem’s handling of discontent among the people of South Vietnam.*


*Diem will continue to resist JFK’s suggestion that he institute land reform in South Vietnam & in early November 1963 Diem will be an assassination victim in a successful coup led by SVA generals.

                         Ngo Dinh Diem


March 28, 1969


GENERAL EISENHOWER DEAD


The 34th President of the United States, Dwight David Eisenhower, died today in New York City at the age of 78.


A graduate of West Point,  Eisenhower was appointed Supreme Allied Commander in Operation Overlord in World War II & successfully led allied armies in landing at Normandy in France.


After the war, Ike served as president of Columbia University & then was appointed Supreme Commander of NATO troops in 1951.  


Eisenhower was elected President of the United States in 1952, was re-elected in 1956 & retired to his home in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania one of the most popular chief executives in our history.


Dwight D. Eisenhower will be buried in Abilene, Kansas.

March 28, 1979


NUCLEAR REACTOR OVERHEATS AT 3 MILE ISLAND


The most serious accident in the history of commercial nuclear power in the United States occurred today at the Three Mile Island Nuclear Plant in Middletown, Pennsylvania.


A pump that directs steam to the plant’s electric turbines ceased to work causing a water circulation break down.*


*Within days radiation leaks were elevated in 4 counties, but by April 9, 1979 the areas were deemed safe.

Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant


March 28, 1958


W.C. HANDY “FATHER OF THE BLUES” IS DEAD


W.C. Handy, credited with giving the ‘Blues’ its contemporary form, died today in New York City at the age of 85.


Handy, who played piano, coronet & trumpet, took a relatively unknown music style & turned it into a dominant American music form.


Born in Florence, Alabama, Handy moved to Memphis in 1909 where he & his band performed on Beale Street.  He published “Memphis Blues” in 1912.


In the 1920s, the Handy Record Company was founded in New York City.


Handy’s “St. Louis Blues”, written in 1914, was made famous by Bessie Smith in 1925.

March 28, 1834


PRESIDENT JACKSON CENSURED 


The United States Senate censured President Andrew Jackson today for his failure to turn over his Cabinet papers regarding the National Bank Veto of 1931.


This marks the 1st time a President has been censured.


When the President refused to turn over the papers, Whig Senator Henry Clay of Kentucky introduced the censure resolution.  Since the Whig Party currently has a majority in the Senate, the censure resolution passed.*


*When the Democrats regained control of the Senate in 1837, they had the censure expunged from the record.