About
Walter Cronkite, born November 4, 1916, in St. Joseph, Missouri, and died July 17, 2009, in New York City, was an American television journalist. As a war correspondent for United Press during World War II, he covered the London Blitz, the Normandy landings, and the Nuremberg trials. He joined CBS News in 1950 and became anchor of the CBS Evening News in 1962, a position he held for nearly nineteen years. He was the first to announce the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963 and covered American manned space flights. Known as 'the most trusted man in America,' he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1981.
* 1916-11-04 — † 2009-07-17
Major works
- A Reporter's Life (1996)autobiography
Key milestones
- 1962Becomes anchor of the CBS Evening News.
- 1963Announces the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
- 1981Receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Themes
Television journalismVietnam WarSpace explorationPublic trustAmerican history
Sources: pbs.org · britannica.com · id.loc.gov