This Week in National Press Club History

Oct. 25, 1996: Former Communist Party Secretary General Mikhail Gorbachev talks about the state of affairs in Russia following the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991, resulting in part from his political and economic reforms (glasnost and perestroika).

Oct. 29, 1929: "Black Tuesday" -- the fourth (and most devastating) day the stock market crashed, leading to the Great Depression and new financial troubles for the National Press Club.

October 1936: His Eminence Eugenio Cardinal Pacelli, the Vatican’s Secretary of State, signs the Club’s Gold Book after lunch and writes, “My appearance here … is a tribute to the ideas and ideals of your press in reporting with accuracy and speed the events which occur as they occur in all parts of the world.”

This Week in National Press Club History is brought to you by the History Committee, which is dedicated to preserving, and revitalizing the Club’s history through displays, panel discussions and lectures, as well as interviewing members as part of the Club’s long-standing oral history project.

The History Committee meets at noon on the last Tuesday of the month. Our next meeting is Tuesday, Oct. 27. For more information on upcoming History Committee-sponsored events, or to join the History Committee, contact Marc Wojno at [email protected].