Photographs of John F. Kennedy visit to Amherst College, 1963 October 26

Original versions are 35mm black and white and color slides.

126 photographs

Color and black and white photographs of President John F. Kennedy's visit to Amherst College for the groundbreaking ceremony for Robert Frost Library and a convocation on October 26, 1963. Included are images of the Civil Rights vigil held with student and faculty attendees holding placards supporting Kennedy's Civil Rights program, the convocation at which President Kennedy and Archibald MacLeish were awarded honorary doctor of law degrees, the arrival of Kennedy and his entourage via helicopters on Memorial Field, media coverage of events, a meal in Valentine Hall, a meeting, the President's motorcade to the groundbreaking, Kennedy greeting spectators, and the groundbreaking for the library. Also included are images of the seating arranged for the convocation and the stage and podium erected for the groundbreaking. Members of the media, State Police, Secret Service, and spectators gathered for the events can be seen in images. Specific individuals who can be seen in photographs include College President Calvin H. Plimpton (Calvin Hasting Plimpton), President Kennedy, Archibald Macleish, College Dean C. Scott Porter (Charles Scott Porter), College Librarian Newton F. McKeon, President of the Alumni Society Leonard P. Moore, Chairman of the Amherst Capital Program Harry W. Knight, President of the Amherst Student Council Harry W. Knight, Jr., Secretary of the College and Director of Publications Peter Schrag, Sheriff John F. Boyle, and Trustees John J. McCloy, Kendall B. DeBevoise, and J. Alfred Guest. Photographs are taken in various locations including in Coolidge Cage, Valentine Hall, the Main Quadrangle (also known as the first-year quad), in front of the Alumni Gymnasium and Athletic Complex, and on the site where Frost Library currently stands. These photographs were taken by the College Photographer for the Office of Public Affairs (now the Office of Communications). The name of the photographer is unknown. The photographs have been sorted according to the manufacturer named on the original slide frames: Anscochrome, Kodak Ektachrome, and Kodachrome Duplicate.

Creative Commons: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Box 3 Folder 39