SEPTEMBER FIRSTS

September 25 in history:

On September 25th, 1513, explorer Vasco Nunez de Balboa became the first European to see the Pacific Ocean from the east, while traveling on the Isthmus of Panama.  Balboa claimed the ocean for the king and queen of Spain.

On this date in 1981, Sandra Day O’Connor took office as the first female justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.

ABC was the first U.S. network to hire a woman to anchor the evening news, when it teamed Barbara Walters with Harry Reasoner in 1976. Walters was born on September 25th, 1929.

And the first weekly TV cartoon show about living celebrities debuted on ABC on September 25th, 1965.  On “The Beatles” series, the animated adventures portrayed the band members as they looked in 1965.  But during the four years that “The Beatles” aired on network TV, the show did take note of the band’s changes in appearance and musical styles.

LIVE BY SATELLITE

July 10th in history:

There was no such thing as a communications satellite until July 10th, 1962, when the first Telstar was sent into orbit. On that same day in ’62, President Kennedy signed a bill called the All-Channel Receiver Act, requiring new TV sets in the U.S. to carry UHF signals beyond VHF Channel 13.

Satellite technology helped make TV programs like “ABC World News Tonight” possible. That newscast debuted on July 10th, 1978, officially replacing the anchor team of Harry Reasoner and Barbara Walters. Three men – Frank Reynolds, Max Robinson and Peter Jennings – anchored the program from three different cities.

ABC’s new newscast began on the 58th birthday of competitor David Brinkley, who was then co-anchor of “NBC Nightly News”. Three years later, Brinkley moved to ABC.