Happy Birthday Willie Nelson!
“When I was in trouble in the White House or when I wanted to have some deep thoughts, I had a very high quality hi-fi player, and the number one thing I played was Willie Nelson songs. All the good things I did as a president, all the mistakes I made — you can blame half of that on Willie.”
-Jimmy Carter in an interview with Rolling Stone Magazine
President Carter on stage at a performance by country western singer, Willie Nelson at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland. September 13, 1980. The two remain friends today.
-from the Carter Library
Among Xi’an’s Terracotta Army
On this day in 1984, President Reagan became the second U.S. President to visit the People’s Republic of China since the Communist shift of power. 4/26/84
In this photo, Ronald and Nancy Reagan stand among the terracotta figures in Xi’an China. 4/29/84
-from the Reagan Library
Easter Egg Roll at the Carter White House - Amy Carter and James Earl Carter IV on the South Lawn. 4/1/1980
Happy Easter Weekend! May your eggs be bright, your bunnies chocolate, and your rolls smooth.
Vice President George Bush’s Notes Regarding the Assassination Attempt on President Ronald Reagan, 03/30/1981
This item is a Flight Information Card produced by the 89th Military Airlift Group for use aboard Air Force Two. In addition to information about a flight from Austin, Texas to Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, there are notes handwritten by Vice President George H. W. Bush during the flight. These notes record the Vice President’s thoughts after being notified that there had been an assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan.
The President is Shot
On March 30, 1981, two and a half months after his inauguration, President Reagan is shot in the chest by would-be assassin John Hinkley.
When the shots begin outside of the Washington Hilton, Ronald Reagan is immediately pushed into the armored presidential car by Secret Service agent Jerry Parr. Before the President is completely inside, one of the bullets ricochets off the limousine into his chest. The shot hits a rib, punctures a lung, and stops one inch short of the President’s heart.
Three other men were also shot protecting the President, Secret Service Agent Timothy McCarthy, Washington D.C. policeman Thomas Delahanty, and White House Press Secretary James Brady.
The President participated in a briefing on the situation in Afghanistan and the boycot [sic] of the Summer Olympic games in Moscow with members of the U.S. Summer Olympic Team.
Jimmy Carter’s White House Daily Dairy. March 21, 1980. 2:30 pm.
See the official White House Dairy entry here.
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Challenger’s resting place
On January 28, 1986, at 11:30, A.M. just one minute after lift off, the Space Shuttle Challenger and its crew were destroyed in an explosion. After pieces of the Challenger were examined, they were lowered into their permanent storage area in the Minuteman missile silo at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.
Muhammad Ali turns 70 today, January 17.
The boxing legend and activist visited the White House on 1/24/83. Here’s a photo of Ali getting “punched” by President Reagan.
Happy Birthday Muhammad Ali!
-from the Reagan Library
Representative Shirley Chisholm took her seat for the first time today in 1969, becoming the first African-American congresswomen. Rep. Chisholm retired from the House on January 3, 1983.
Source: Shirley Chisholm (2008), Black Americans in Congress
Credentials of Representatives from New York, 11/5/1968, Records of the U.S. House of Representatives
Shirley Chisholm’s Oath of Office, 1/21/1969, Records of the U.S. House of Representatives
November 14, 1989 - President Bush meets privately with Solidarity Leader Lech Walesa of Poland
“…For the first time in history 61 female officers were among the rows of the ‘Long Gray Line.’ 05/28/1980”
President Ford signed Public Law 94-106 on October 7, 1975, permitting women to attend military academies for the first time.
This morning I announced my nominee for Supreme Ct., Mrs. O’Connor of Ariz.
-President Ronald Reagan writing in his personal White House diary on July 7th, 1981. With President Reagan’s nomination, Sandra Day O’Connor became the first female justice on the United States Supreme Court.
-via The Reagan Presidential Library
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