Walter Cronkite was born in St. Joseph, Missouri on November 1, 1916. Walter and his parents, Helen Lena and Dr. Walter Leland Cronkite lived in Kansas City, Missouri until the age of ten, when his father moved the family to Houston, Texas for a dentistry job.
Walter first was thrust into the world of journalism as a 16-year-old student at San Jacinto High School when journalism instructor, Fred Birney, named him the editor of the school newspaper. After working for the paper for a few years, Birney secured Walter a job as the Houston Post’s correspondant to the University of Texas in Austin when he was just 19-years-old. Walter also attended The University of Texas, where he worked on the Daily Texan student newspaper.
