1960s

After a day of campaigning for the presidency, Senator John F. Kennedy arrived at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor on October 14, 1960, at 2:00 a.m., to get some sleep, not to propose the establishment of an international volunteer organization. Members of the press had retired for the night, believing that nothing interesting would happen.

But 10,000 students at the University were waiting to hear the presidential candidate speak, and it was there on the steps of the Michigan Union that a bold new experiment in public service was launched. The assembled students heard the future president issue a challenge: how many of them, he asked, would be willing to serve their country and the cause of peace by living and working in the developing world?

The reaction was both swift and enthusiastic, and since 1961, more than 45 years, nearly 200,000 Americans have responded to this enduring challenge. And since then, the Peace Corps has demonstrated how the power of an idea can capture the imagination of an entire nation.

October 14, 1960

Presidential candidate John F. Kennedy addresses the students at the University of Michigan in a 2 a.m. impromptu speech challenging them to give two years of their lives to help people in countries of the developing world.

January 20, 1961

President Kennedy includes what becomes basic Peace Corps philosophy in his inaugural address: "To those people in the huts and villages of half the globe struggling to break the bonds of mass misery, we pledge our best efforts to help them help themselves..."

July 1961

Peace Corps assignments have been planned for Ghana, Tanzania, Colombia, the Philippines, Chile, and St. Lucia. More than 5,000 applicants take the first exams to enter the Peace Corps.

August 28, 1961

President Kennedy hosts a ceremony at the White House Rose Garden honoring the first group of Peace Corps Volunteers departing for service in Ghana and Tanganyika (later called Tanzania).

September 22, 1961

Congress formally authorizes the Peace Corps, charging it to "help the peoples of such countries and areas in meeting their needs for trained manpower, particularly in meeting the basic needs of those living in the poorest areas of such countries, and to help promote a better understanding of the American people on the part of the peoples served and a better understanding of other peoples on the part of the American people."

December 1961

By the end of the year, Peace Corps programs start up in Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ghana, India, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, St. Lucia, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and Thailand. Total number of Volunteers reaches 750.

June 1962

Programs begin in Afghanistan, Belize, Bolivia, Cameroon, Cyprus, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Iran, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Liberia, Nepal, Niger, Peru, Somali Republic, Sri Lanka, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey and Venezuela. As of June 30, 1962, 2,816 Volunteers are in the field.

December 1963

Programs begin in Costa Rica, Gabon, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Honduras, Indonesia, Malawi, Morocco, Panama, Senegal, and Uruguay. By the end of 1963, 7,300 Volunteers are in the field, serving in 44 countries. More than half of the Volunteers work in education, one-fourth in community development, and the remainder in agriculture, healthcare, and public works.

April 1964

The Peace Corps Partnership Program is started to provide a link between U.S. contributors and requests for project assistance from the overseas communities in which Peace Corps Volunteers serve.

June 1966

More than 15,000 Volunteers are working in the field, the largest number in the Peace Corps' history.

Last updated Dec 14 2009