Headlines of History

Published 7:19 pm Friday, January 17, 2020

By Matt Debnam

ARMISTICE: A bold headline in this 1918 edition of the Washington Daily News proclaims the end of hostilities in World War I. (Matt Debnam/Daily News)

It is said that journalism is the first draft of history. Over the course of the past 111 years, generations of writers at The Washington Daily News have provided news coverage of Beaufort County and the surrounding area, as well as stories impacting North Carolina and the United States as a whole. On a wall of the newspaper’s offices in downtown Washington, reproductions of front pages from the past immortalize some of the most historically significant events of the 21st century.

NAZIS QUIT: Sometimes a headline can say it all. This interesting headline was surely met with celebration by Americans on the home front on May 8, 1945.

ENGINE OF DESTRUCTION: The unleashing of the atom bomb on Hiroshima marked an evolution in modern warfare. This Aug. 7, 1945 edition was printed after the bombing of Hiroshima, but before the bombing of Nagasaki.

NATIONAL TRAGEDY: Like9/11, many Americans can remember exactly where they where and what they were doing when they learned John F. Kennedy was assassinated. Kennedy died at 1 p.m. Central Time, and the grim story made the top headline in the afternoon edition of The WDN that same day.

DEATH OF USSR: Alongside Christmas advertisements, the Dec. 18, 1991, edition of the Washington Daily News announced a timeline for the death of the Soviet Union, essentially ending the Cold War.

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