John F. Kennedy was sworn in as the 35th President of the United States. At age 43, he became the youngest elected president and the first Roman Catholic to hold the office. His inaugural address is remembered for the famous line, 'Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country,' which inspired a generation toward public service, idealism, and a renewed sense of civic duty during a time of Cold War tension.

The United States, South Vietnam, North Vietnam, and the Viet Cong signed the Paris Peace Accords, formally ending direct U.S. military involvement in the Vietnam War. The agreement called for a ceasefire, withdrawal of American troops, the return of prisoners of war, and political negotiations between North and South Vietnam. Although it temporarily halted American participation, fighting continued in Vietnam until the fall of Saigon in 1975.

Four African American college students from North Carolina A&T State University sat at a segregated Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, refusing to leave after being denied service. Their peaceful protest sparked a wave of sit-ins across the South, becoming a powerful tactic of the Civil Rights Movement. The Greensboro sit-ins led to the eventual desegregation of lunch counters and inspired broader activism against racial segregation.