Mobilization
Kennedy sends General Taylor & advisers to discuss troop support for Diem
Role range: 1960-1975 – 1960-1963
Historical biography archive · Updated 2026-11-03
John Fitzgerald Kennedy Biography and Timeline — Page 3
Follow John Fitzgerald Kennedy through 249 dated historical records for United States of America.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, historical timeline
A chronological timeline drawn from matching World History Database records.
249Distinct records
3 of 7Page
1961–1962Years on this page
1961
Farm Gate
B-26s & SC-47s are redesignated as "reconnaissance bombers"
Role range: 1960-1975 – 1960-1963
Operation Mongoose Development Authorised
Kennedy authorises development of a new covert programme against Castro.
Role range: 1960-1962 – 1961-1963
Cuban Missile Crisis
President Kennedy authorized Operation Mongoose, a covert programme directed against Fidel Castro's government.
Role range: 1961-1965 – 1961-1963
London Gold Pool
The United States joins seven European central banks in the London Gold Pool to keep the market gold price close to the official 35-dollar parity.
Role range: 1961-1963
CIA Leadership Reorganised after Invasion
Kennedy changes senior CIA leadership after the Bay of Pigs inquiry and reassessment of covert operations.
Role range: 1960-1962 – 1961-1963
Mobilization
US helicopters arrive at docks in South Vietnam along with 400 US personnel
Role range: 1960-1975 – 1960-1963
Farm Gate
Farm Gate aircraft are authorized to fly combat missions
Role range: 1960-1975 – 1960-1963
Aid to Vietnam
300 US helicopter pilots in "Eagle Flight" units arrive in Vietnam
Role range: 1960-1975 – 1960-1963
Aid to Laos
Commits $20 billion to the "sister republics" in aid to Latin America over 10 yrs
Role range: 1960-1965 – 1960-1963
Aid to Latin America
Commits $20 billion to the "sister republics" in aid to Latin America over 10 yrs
Role range: 1960-1965 – 1960-1963
Atlantic Free Trade Zone
Passes the Trade Expansion Act to try & establish an Atlantic Free Trade Zone
Role range: 1960-1965 – 1960-1963
Commits $20 billion to the sister republics in aid to Latin America
Commits $20 billion to the "sister republics" in aid to Latin America over 10 yrs
Role range: 1960-1965 – 1960-1963
Economy of USA
Passes the Trade Expansion Act to try & establish an Atlantic Free Trade Zone
Role range: 1960-1965 – 1960-1963
Free Trade
Passes the Trade Expansion Act to try & establish an Atlantic Free Trade Zone
Role range: 1960-1965 – 1960-1963
London Gold Pool
The United States joins European central banks in pooling gold to defend the official price.
Role range: 1961-1963
Minuteman
Announces doubled Minuteman production
Role range: 1960-1965 – 1960-1963
Moon Landing
"The goal, before the decade is out, of landing a man on the moon"
Role range: 1960-1965 – 1960-1963
Polaris
Announces the Polaris building program will be doubled for the year
Role range: 1960-1965 – 1960-1963
Trade Expansion Act
Passes the Trade Expansion Act to try & establish an Atlantic Free Trade Zone
Role range: 1960-1965 – 1960-1963
Polaris
Kennedy announces that the Polaris submarine missile building program will be doubled for the year
Role range: 1961-1963 – 1961-1963
Discovery of Moon
"The goal, before the decade is out, of landing a man on the moon"
Role range: 1960-1965 – 1960-1963
Nuclear Power
B-52 & B-47 nuclear bombers placed on crisis footing & half are on a 15 minute alert. Announces doubled Minuteman production
Role range: 1961-1963
Polaris Patrols
Kennedy administration policy treats Polaris submarines as a central part of the American strategic deterrent
Role range: 1961-1963 – 1961-1963
Mobilization
US backing includes new equipment and more than 3,000 military advisers
Role range: 1960-1975 – 1960-1963
Invasion of Cuba
Allen Dulles later stated, CIA planners believed that once the troops were on the ground, Kennedy would authorize any action required to prevent failure as Eisenhower had done in Guatemala in 1954 after that invasion looked as if it would collapse.
Role range: 1960-1965 – 1960-1963
1962
Chopper
US helicopters ferry 1,000 South Vietnamese soldiers to sweep an NFL stroghold
Role range: 1960-1975 – 1960-1963
Farm Gate
Farm Gate aircraft fly their 1st combat mission
Role range: 1960-1975 – 1960-1963
Operation Ranchand
Bombing trails used by the Viet Cong, 6 million acres treated with herbicides by 1971
Role range: 1960-1975 – 1960-1963
Cold War
In response to the Cuban alignment with the Soviet Union during the Cold War, President John F. Kennedy extended measures by Executive Order, widening the scope of the trade restrictions
Role range: 1960-1965 – 1960-1963
Sanctions
In response to the Cuban alignment with the Soviet Union during the Cold War, President John F. Kennedy extended measures by Executive Order, widening the scope of the trade restrictions
Role range: 1960-1965 – 1960-1963
Trade Relations at Geneva
In response to the Cuban alignment with the Soviet Union during the Cold War, President John F. Kennedy extended measures by Executive Order, widening the scope of the trade restrictions
Role range: 1960-1965 – 1960-1963
Space Race
States on TV that in space America must "be in a position 2nd to none"
Role range: 1961-1965 – 1961-1963
Space Race
Appears on US TV & states that in space America must "be in a position 2nd to none"
Role range: 1961-1965 – 1961-1963
Space Race
States on TV that in space America must "be in a position 2nd to none"
Role range: 1961-1965 – 1961-1963
Government
Orders the 7th Fleet to Indochina after Pathet Lao overuns most of Northern Laos
Role range: 1960-1965 – 1960-1963
Invasion of Laos
Orders the 7th Fleet to Indochina after Pathet Lao overuns most of Northern Laos
Role range: 1960-1965 – 1960-1963
Aid to Vietnam
5,000 troops are present in South Vietnam
Role range: 1960-1975 – 1960-1963
Government
Senate rejects medicare for the aged
Role range: 1960-1965 – 1960-1963
Nuclear Power
The US performs nuclear tests at the Nevada test site
Role range: 1961-1963
Records, sources and methodology
These dates and descriptions come from the historical_events database. Exact duplicate records have been collapsed. Names are grouped by the country, Name 2 and Name 1 fields; records with missing Name 2 cannot be reliably assigned to an individual biography. Check the underlying sources before formal citation.