On This Day

On this day -- November 22, 1963 -- President John F. Kennedy was assassinated as he rode in a motorcade through the streets of Dallas.  The President was 46 years old and had served less than three years in office. ... read more

On this day -- November 15, 1939 -- President Franklin D. Roosevelt laid down the cornerstone for the Jefferson Memorial.  Roosevelt called it the nation's "third great shrine" in honor of our third President. "During all the years that have followed Thomas Jefferson, the United States has expanded his philosophy into a greater achievement of security of the nation, security of the individual ... read more

On this day - November 8, 1994 - the Republican Party gained 54 seats and took control of both the House and Senate for the first time since 1954.  Led by Newt Gingrich with the "Contract with America" plan, Republicans held onto both Houses of Congress through 2006. ... read more

On this day - November 1, 1952 - the US tested a hydrogen bomb, marking the first ever detonation of a thermonuclear weapon.  The test took place on Enewetak, an atoll in the Pacific Ocean.  The blast code named “Ivy Mike” registered a yield of 10.4 megatons (450 times more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki at the end of WWII).  This development gave the US a brief advantage ... read more

On this day - October 25, 1962 - US Ambassador Adlai Stevenson presented pictures of Soviet-built missile bases in Cuba to the UN Security Council.  Stevenson challenged the Soviet ambassador to deny the evidence in front of what he called "the court of world opinion."  Stevenson added, "I am prepared to wait for my answer until hell freezes over, if that's your decision." Earlier, on ... read more

On this day - October 18, 1968 - rumors of a bombing halt in Vietnam sent the New York Stock Exchange soaring.  The rumors were true and on October 31, in a televised address to the nation, President Johnson ordered a halt to all bombing raids over North Vietnam based on recent developments in the Paris peace negotiations. In his address to the nation five days before the presidential ... read more