Cronkite, Walter (1916-2009), an American journalist, became famous as a television newscaster. He was anchorman of “The CBS Evening News” from 1962 to 1981. He won praise for his reporting of United States space exploration—especially the first moon landing in 1969—and for organizing CBS’s coverage of elections and the Vietnam War (1957-1975). He ended each broadcast with the trademark phrase “And that’s the way it is.” Over his lengthy career, he became known as “the most trusted man in America.”
Walter Leland Cronkite was born on Nov. 4, 1916, in St. Joseph, Missouri. He reported for Scripps-Howard Newspapers while attending the University of Texas at Austin from 1933 to 1935. After leaving school, he worked at The Houston Post and took jobs as a radio announcer.
From 1937 to 1948, Cronkite worked for United Press (now United Press International). He was a European correspondent during World War II (1939-1945) and later managed the Moscow bureau. In 1948, he returned to radio as a reporter. Cronkite joined CBS in 1950. He was a correspondent in Washington and in New York City before becoming anchorman. During his career, he reported on such important events as the Nuremberg Trials—Allied trials of Nazi war criminals (1945-1949)—and the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy (1963). Cronkite retired from CBS in 1981. After his retirement, he worked on documentaries and special assignments for CBS. He died in New York City on July 17, 2009.
