National Press Club, Washington Press Club merge in 1985

This Week In National Press Club History

April 29, 1985: The Washington Press Club and the National Press Club merge after a long struggle.

Women journalists had formed their own club in 1919 as the Women’s National Press Club. When the WNPC admitted men in 1971, it became the Washington Press Club.

April 30, 2010: Navy Secretary Ray Mabus announces at a luncheon that women will now be assigned to serve aboard submarines, “the absolutely right thing to do.”

May 1, 1950: Volume One of The Record is released, the first regularly published Club newsletter.

This Week In National Press Club History is brought to you by the History & Heritage Committee, which preserves and revitalizes Club history through displays, events, panel discussions and its oral history project.

For information about the Committee’s activities, or to join the Committee, contact Gil Klein at [email protected].