This Week In National Press Club History: Jimmy Carter announces candidacy

Dec. 8, 1970: The Women’s National Press Club votes 113 to 6 to admit men and changes its name to the Washington Press Club. One year later, the National Press Club votes 227 to 56 to admit women.

Dec. 9, 1985: Flora Lewis, foreign affairs columnist of the New York Times, becomes the second woman to receive the Fourth Estate Award “for a lifetime of contributions to American journalism.” Helen Thomas, of UPI, was the first such honoree, in 1984.

Dec. 12, 1974: Jimmy Carter announces his presidential candidacy at the National Press Club, introducing himself as “a farmer, an engineer, a business man, a planner, a scientist, a governor and a Christian.” The four-word theme of his campaign will be “Why not the best?” a question Admiral Hyman Rickover had asked every young naval officer, including Carter, who served aboard a nuclear submarine.

Dec. 10, 1970: In one of several appearances over the years, King Hussein of Jordan tells a National Press Club luncheon that Israel must withdraw from the West Bank and Gaza Strip. “Land for peace” is the only acceptable solution to the Arab-Israel conflict, he insists.

"This Week In National Press Club History" is brought to you by the History & Heritage Committee, which preserves and revitalizes the Club’s distinguished history through lobby displays, panel discussions, events and an extensive oral history project.

For more information about the Committee and its activities, or to join it, contact Chair Gilbert Klein at [email protected].