On May 3, 2021, NPR turns 50 years old. To mark this milestone, we re reflecting on and renewing our commitment to Hear Every Voice.
It s been a turbulent time, with a deadly pandemic and a chaotic sometimes violent political climate. In the midst of all this, NPR is marking a milestone; on May 3, 2021, the network turns 50 years old.
On the same day, in 1971, we started holding up our microphone to America. Just outside our doors, on the streets of Washington, DC, one of the biggest antiwar protests in American history was taking place. NPR s story is that of a ragtag network born in the era of the Vietnam War and Watergate one that came of age during the explosion of the 24/7 news cycle.
Almanacs are full of lists of global and national historic events. But “This Day in History” feature invites you to not just peruse a list, but to take a trip back in time to see how a significant event originally was reported in the Chicago Tribune.
TODAY IN HISTORY: May 9
The Associated Press
Today’s Highlight in History
On May 9, 1994: South Africa’s newly elected parliament chose Nelson Mandela to be the country’s first Black president.
On this date
In 1712: The Carolina Colony was officially divided into two entities: North Carolina and South Carolina.
In 1914: President Woodrow Wilson, acting on a joint congressional resolution, signed a proclamation designating the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day.
In 1926: Americans Richard Byrd and Floyd Bennett supposedly became the first men to fly over the North Pole. (However, U.S. scholars announced in 1996 that their examination of Byrd’s flight diary suggested he had turned back 150 miles short of his goal.)