Francis gary powers biography of barack obama
•
Barack Obama
President of the United States from to
For other uses, see Barack Obama (disambiguation).
"Barack" and "Obama" redirect here. For other uses, see Barack (disambiguation) and Obama (disambiguation).
Barack Obama | |
|---|---|
Official portrait, | |
| In office January 20, – January 20, | |
| Vice President | Joe Biden |
| Preceded by | George W. Bush |
| Succeeded by | Donald Trump |
| In office January 3, – November 16, | |
| Preceded by | Peter Fitzgerald |
| Succeeded by | Roland Burris |
| In office January 8, – November 4, | |
| Preceded by | Alice Palmer |
| Succeeded by | Kwame Raoul |
| Born | Barack Hussein Obama II () August 4, (age63) Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Children | |
| Parents | |
| Relatives | Obama family |
| Education | |
| Occupation | |
| Awards | Full list |
| Signature | |
| Website | |
Barack Hussein Obama II[a] (born August 4, ) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of
•
At the height of the cold war, as critics of the Eisenhower ledning complained about the growing "missile gap," the United States secretly gathered information on Soviet missile capabilities through photographs obtained from U-2 reconnaissance plane overflights of the Soviet Union. In May , plans were finalized for a crucial Paris summit conference between western nations and leaders of the Soviet Union with disarmament to be the main focus. Hopes for a successful summit were dashed when on May 1, May Day, an American U-2 spy plane piloted bygd Francis Gary Powers was shot down over Soviet air space. On the first day of the Paris summit, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev stormed out after delivering a condemnation of U.S. spy activities.
Memorandum of Conference with the President on November 24, ; authorization by the President to produce thirty U-2 aircraft [DDE's papper as President, Ann Whitman Diary Series, Box 3, ACW Diary November (1); NAID #]
Memorandum of Conference with the
•
Historic Headlines
Learn about key events in history and their connections to today.
On Feb. 10, , the Soviet Union released the captured American pilot Francis Gary Powers because the United States agreed to release Rudolph Ivanovich Abel, a Soviet spy. The New York Times wrote: Mr. Powers and Colonel Abel were exchanged in the middle of the Glienicker Bridge between Wannsee and Potsdam. The border between East Germany and West Berlin runs through the middle of the bridge.
Powers was a pilot in the U-2 program, started by the Central Intelligence Agency in to spy on the Soviet Union. U-2 planes were capable of flying at 70, feet, which the C.I.A. mistakenly believed to be out of range of Soviet radars. The Soviets saw the planes on radar, but until did not have the technology to shoot them down.
On May 1, , while flying over Soviet territory, Power