This Week In National Press Club History

Sept. 11, 1953: 20-year-old Crown Prince Akihito of Japan, the future emperor, visits the National Press Club and reads a prepared statement: “Through the press of the United States, I wish to express my sincere appreciation for the warm welcome extended to me both by the government and the people of this country.” The Club has welcomed other royal visitors over the years, including the exiled King Peter II of Yugoslavia in 1942, King Hussein of Jordan in 1970, and Prince Albert II of Monaco in 2009.

Sept. 11, 1986: Jesse Jackson Sr., civil rights leader, clergyman and twice candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988, appears at a luncheon to discuss the current political situation.

Sept. 11, 2011: Women journalists of the Civil War are celebrated by distinguished scholars and reporters in a panel sponsored by the History & Heritage Committee in observance of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War.

This Week In National Press Club History is sponsored by the History and Heritage Committee, which preserves and vitalizes the Club’s century-old history through events, oral histories, panel discussions, and constantly changing lobby displays of prominent Club guests in business, politics, sports, literature and entertainment.

For more information on the Committee’s activities or to join it, contact Chair Gilbert Klein at [email protected].