| Became senior analyst and political commentator for NBC's "Nightly News" |
| Began career as an advertising copy runner at the CHICAGO DAILY NEWS |
| Joined the staff of "NBC Nightly News" as anchor following the retirement of Chet Huntley |
| Served in the Army |
1947 | Joined the CHICAGO SUN-TIMES as a copy boy and rose through the ranks to become a reporter and feature writer |
1950 | Became a reporter for WNBQ, an NBC owned station in Chicago |
1957 | While serving as a NBC news Midwest correspondant his career brakethrough came while covering school desegregation in Little Rock's Central High School in AR |
1960 | Covered the story of the Russian spy trial of the American U-2 pilot, Francis Gary Porter, and mankinds first orbit of the earth by Soviet, Yuri Gagarin |
1960 | Honored as one of the panalists on the TV debates between presidential hopefuls John Kennedy and Richard Nixon |
1961 | Replaced the retiring Dave Garroway as host for NBC's "Today" show; it's noted that he was unhappy in that position |
1964 | He was arrested on camera by a security guard at the Republican National Convention for "blocking the aisle" |
1965 | At the request of then President Lyndon B Johnson named head of the "Voice of America" and served as director of the radio division of the U S Information Agency; first professional journalist to hold that post |
1993 | Narrated the documentary "Baseball" by Ken Burns for public TV |
1993 | Retired after 43 years with NBC |
1994 | Diagnosed with stomach cancer in April |
