On this day in history, Walter Cronkite started showing up in our living rooms.

Walter Cronkite started showing up in living rooms during the dinner hour, starting this night in 1963 as anchor of the CBS Evening News (a job he took over from Douglas Edwards on April 16, 1962). Previous to this night, CBS Evening News had been shown from 7:30-7:45 p.m. and 7:15-7:30 p.m.

A familiar face to TV audiences, Walter Cronkite had been the host of You Are There, a CBS Sunday night program that ran from 1953 through 1957. A CBS news correspondent, Walter Cronkite served as reporter, host, and anchorman as major events in history were reenacted. Those who were viewers of You Are There can probably still recite Walter’s closing lines: “What sort of a day was it? A day like all days, filled with those events that alter and illuminate our times … and you were there.”

Ah yes, that was the golden age of news reporting. Ever since he left, even the strongest wind deflectors cannot deter many news anchors from bloviating nightly when they should be reporting the news.

Thank you Walter.

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