Former Governor Ventura urges press to laugh in 1999 visit

This Week In National Club History

February 21, 1999: Ex-wrestler and Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura of the Reform Pary, says third parties are important to the country and the press needs to laugh more.

February 23, 1955: The National Press Club allows women members of the press to sit in the ballroom balcony during speaker luncheons. Sixteen years later, they are admitted to membership in the Club. Actress Julie Harris is one of the first women to cross the threshold of the formerly “Accompanied Male Guests Only” bar.

This Week In National Press Club History is brought to you by the History & Heritage Committee, which preserves and revitalizes the Club’s history through displays, panel discussions, events, and its oral history project, which now includes close to 200 interviews with club members and personnel.

For more information on the History & Heritage Committee, or to join it, contact Gil Klein at [email protected].

Compiled by Elizabeth Smith Brownstein with information from: Reliable Sources: One Hundred Years at the National Press Club.