77 Facts About Dan Rather

Dan Rather spontaneously created the first radar weather report by overlaying a transparent map over a radar image of Hurricane Carla.

Dan Rather served as foreign correspondent in London and Vietnam over the next two years before returning to the White House correspondent position.

Dan Rather covered the presidency of Richard Nixon, including Nixon's trip to China, the Watergate scandal, and the president's resignation.

In 1981, Dan Rather was promoted to news anchor for the CBS Evening News, a role he occupied for 24 years.

Dan Rather frequently contributed to CBS's weekly news magazine, 60 Minutes.

Dan Rather continued to work with CBS until 2006, when he was abruptly fired.

In September 2007, Dan Rather filed a $70 million lawsuit against CBS and its former parent company Viacom.

Dan Rather accused the network and its ownership and management of making him a "scapegoat" in the Killian story.

The Rathers moved to Houston when he was a child, where Dan attended Lovett Elementary School and Hamilton Middle School.

Dan Rather graduated in 1950 from John H Reagan High School in Houston.

In 1953, Dan Rather earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from Sam Houston State Teachers College in Huntsville, Texas, where he was editor of the school newspaper, The Houstonian.

Dan Rather was a member of the Caballeros, the founding organization of the Epsilon Psi chapter of the Sigma Chi fraternity.

In January 1954, Dan Rather enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and was sent to the Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego.

Dan Rather was discharged because he was found to have had rheumatic fever as a child, a fact he had omitted during the enlistment process.

Dan Rather began his journalism career in 1950 as an Associated Press reporter in Huntsville, Texas.

Dan Rather worked for four seasons as the play-by-play announcer for the University of Houston football team.

In 1959, Dan Rather began his television career as a reporter for KTRK-TV, the ABC affiliate in Houston.

Dan Rather was promoted to the director of news for KHOU-TV, the CBS affiliate in Houston.

In September 1961, Dan Rather covered Hurricane Carla for KHOU-TV, broadcasting from the then National Weather Center in Galveston and showing the first radar image of a hurricane on TV.

Dan Rather conceived of overlaying a transparent map over the radar screen, in order to show the size of Hurricane Carla to the audience.

On February 28,1962, Dan Rather left Houston for New York City for a six-month trial initiation at CBS.

Shortly after, Dan Rather was made chief of CBS's Southwest bureau in Dallas.

Dan Rather did not witness the shooting of Kennedy, and knew nothing of the events until he reached KRLD, having run through Dealey Plaza.

Dan Rather reported the fatal headshot as forcing Kennedy's head forward, but it was thrown backward.

Dan Rather's reporting during the national mourning period following the Kennedy assassination and subsequent events impressed CBS News management.

In 1965, Dan Rather served as a foreign correspondent for CBS in London, and in 1966 in Vietnam.

Dan Rather served again as White House correspondent during the presidency of Richard Nixon.

Dan Rather was among those journalists who accompanied Nixon to China.

Dan Rather later covered the Watergate investigation, as well as the impeachment proceedings against Richard Nixon in Congress.

Success there helped Dan Rather pull ahead of longtime correspondent Roger Mudd, who was in line to succeed Walter Cronkite as anchor and Managing Editor of The CBS Evening News.

Dan Rather succeeded to the news anchor position after Cronkite's retirement, making his first broadcast on March 9,1981.

Dan Rather had a significantly different style of reporting the news.

For one week in September 1986, with CBS the target of potentially hostile new ownership, Dan Rather tried ending his broadcasts with the word "courage," and was roundly ridiculed for it.

In January 1988, he became host of the newly created 48 Hours, and in January 1999, Dan Rather joined the new 60 Minutes II as a correspondent.

Dan Rather was a frequent collaborator with CBS News producer Susan Zirinsky, a leading member of the news division's staff.

Criticism of Dan Rather reached a fever pitch after 60 Minutes II ran his 2004 report about President Bush's military record.

Dan Rather subsequently admitted on the air that the documents' authenticity could not be proven.

Dan Rather was believed to have provided tough coverage of the Watergate scandal, raising his profile.

Dan Rather's reports were later revealed to have been influential to Congressman Charlie Wilson, who led an effort to help the struggling mujahideen.

Dan Rather was competing with Roger Mudd, a more senior correspondent and a frequent substitute anchor for Walter Cronkite on Evening News.

Mudd had anchored the Sunday evening broadcast, but Dan Rather traveled through Afghanistan when news led there.

Shortly after Iraq invaded Kuwait, Dan Rather secured an interview with Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

On February 24,2003, Dan Rather conducted another interview with Hussein before the United States' 2003 invasion of Iraq.

On June 2,1988, Dan Rather hosted a CBS News special, The Wall Within.

On September 8,2004, Rather reported on 60 Minutes Wednesday that a series of memos critical of President George W Bush's Texas Air National Guard service record had been discovered in the personal files of Lt.

Dan Rather retired as the anchorman and Managing Editor of the CBS Evening News in 2005; his last broadcast was Wednesday, March 9,2005.

Dan Rather had worked as the anchorman for 24 full years, the longest tenure of anyone in American television history, and for a short time, continued to work as a correspondent for 60 Minutes.

Since retiring, Dan Rather has spoken out about what he perceives as a lack of courage by American journalists.

On January 24,2006, Dan Rather spoke to a Seattle audience.

On June 20,2006, CBS News and Sports President Sean McManus announced that Dan Rather would leave the network after 44 years.

Dan Rather issued a separate statement which accompanied the news of the departure:.

On September 19,2007, Dan Rather filed a $70 million lawsuit against CBS, its former parent company Viacom; CBS President and CEO Leslie Moonves; Sumner Redstone, chairman of both Viacom and CBS; and Andrew Heyward, former president of CBS News.

Dan Rather accused the network and its ownership and management of making him a "scapegoat" in the Killian story.

Dan Rather appears frequently on a number of news shows, including MSNBC's The Rachel Maddow Show and The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell and on CNN.

Dan Rather has written for The Huffington Post and Mashable.

On May 28,2007, Dan Rather compared historical events to events in the Star Wars films in the History Channel special titled Star Wars: The Legacy Revealed.

In 2012, Dan Rather published an autobiography titled Dan Rather Outspoken: My Life in the News.

In 2015, Dan Rather launched an independent production company called News and Guts Media, through which he produces The Big Interview among other projects.

On September 23,2016, SiriusXM Radio announced a new hour-long weekly program, Dan Rather's America, airing Tuesday mornings at 10am Eastern on Radio Andy channel 102, debuting on September 27.

On January 21,2018, it was announced that Dan Rather would be launching a weekly 30-minute newscast on The Young Turks.

In May 2007, Dan Rather received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Siena College in Loudonville, New York, for his lifetime contributions to journalism.

Dan Rather has received numerous Emmy Awards, several Peabody Awards, and various honorary degrees from universities.

Dan Rather criticized the anchor for his criticisms of President George W Bush's and Vice President Dan Quayle's service in the National Guard, rather than the Active Duty military during the Vietnam War, and questioned Rather's own service.

Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting has accused Dan Rather of having "an unwillingness to challenge official power and policy" in his reporting.

Dan Rather said that he did not realize that the event was a partisan fundraiser, although he did realize that after he arrived at the event.

Eddie Barker, local Dallas-area news director for CBS, said that Dan Rather had in fact been aware that the children were merely happy about being sent home early, and they had not been given a reason for early school closure.

Dan Rather stated that Rather had deliberately misrepresented the facts by indicating that the children were happy about the shooting.

Barker attempted to fire Dan Rather, but was overruled by the national CBS News management.

On November 10,1980, Dan Rather landed at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport and got into a cab.

On September 11,1987, Dan Rather walked off the set in anger just before a remote Evening News broadcast from Miami, where Pope John Paul II had begun a rare US tour, when a US Open tennis match broadcast extended into the timeslot scheduled for the newscast.

Dan Rather was upset and informed CBS Sports that it should fill the half hour if the newscast did not begin on time.

The next day, Dan Rather apologized for abandoning the anchor desk.

Dan Rather is known for his many colorful analogies and descriptions during live broadcasts.

Dan Rather has been referenced in the television shows Saturday Night Live and Family Guy and many films.

Dan Rather appears, as himself, delivering post-speech analysis from actual news footage.

Dan Rather appeared on The Daily Show in May 2009, wearing an Afro wig and mutton-chop sideburns to narrate a segment about the late former President Nixon eating a burrito, as a parody of MSNBC's extensive coverage of President Obama and Vice President Biden's hamburger lunch.

Dan Rather appeared in the documentary series Facing in the episode "Facing Saddam", providing his views on Saddam Hussein.