Elected in 1964, Patsy T. Mink was sworn in on January 4, 1965,
as the first Asian – American woman and first woman of color
to serve in the U.S. Congress.

Throughout her career, the U.S. representative for Hawaii was
a strong supporter of civil and women’s rights, as well as an
advocate for children, labor unions and education.

Serving as a member of the Committee for Education and Labor,
Mink was vocal in her opposition to the Vietnam War and was
a supporter of a national daycare system, Head Start and the
Women’s Educational Equity Act.

She was again elected to Congress in 1990, serving until her
death at age 74 in 2002. Soon after her death, Title IX was
renamed the Patsy T. Mink Equal Opportunity in Education
Act.         


    
    
    
    
       
        
       

1972

Patsy Matsu Mink (December 6, 1927 – September 28, 2002)

"Johnny’s Mic", the Shure microphone that sat on the
desk of Johnny Carson during "The Tonight Show"
from 1962 to the early 1980’s. 

The mic was sold at a Heritage Galleries auction in
Dallas in 2005 for over $50,000 to an anonymous
collector, and it’s likely still in a private collection,
making it a prized piece of television history rather
than being publicly displayed.

The two founders: President Franklin D. Roosevelt (left)
meeting with Basil O’Connor over a sack of dimes.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt, an adult victim of polio, founded the
National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, which he later
renamed the March of Dimes Foundation, on January 3, 1938.

”I am announcing today my candidacy for the Presidency
of the United States.” 

John F. Kennedy officially announced his run for President on
January 2, 1960, via a written statement to the press, sparking
extensive newspaper coverage detailing his vision for American leadership, addressing concerns about his Catholic faith, and highlighting issues like the Cold War and economic vitality,
as seen in clippings preserved by the JFK Library.

Major newspapers covered his declaration, which framed the
presidency as crucial for global freedom and promised an
energetic, outward-looking America, setting the stage for
his eventual nomination and narrow victory over Richard
Nixon.

On January 2, 1974, President Richard M. Nixon (above) signs      
the Emergency Highway Energy Conservation Act, setting a
new national maximum speed limit.

Prior to 1974, individual states set speed limits within their
boundaries and highway speed limits across the country
ranged from 40 mph to 80 mph.

Lt. Gen. Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., and NHSA Administrator
Joan Claybrook, President Jimmy Carter and Secretary
of Transportation Brock Adams, unveiling a promotional
speed limit poster in the Oval Office, 1977 (Jimmy Carter Presidential Library/NARA)