#OnThisDay 1908: Alistair Cooke, the presenter of Letter from America for nearly 60 years, was born. In 1972 he shared some thoughts about the United States and journalism, on Parkinson. | BBC Archive

#OnThisDay in 1972: America: A Personal History of the United States was first broadcast on BBC2. The 13-part series was written and narrated by Alistair Cooke, who had a particularly fond regard for San Francisco. | BBC Archive

On this day in 1971, Alistair Cooke brought us the very first MASTERPIECE presentation, "The First Churchhills," kicking off 55 years of laughter, tears, and the enduring magic of theater. Thank you and happy birthday to GBH's MASTERPIECE | PBS! Relive hundreds of iconic introductions from The Linda and Andrew Egendorf Masterpiece Theatre Alistair Cooke Collection in the American Archive of Public Broadcasting. Link in the comments. #MASTERPIECE #MASTERPIECEPBS #PBS #TVHistory #MasterpieceMyster

Happy Heavenly Birthday, Alistair Cooke! In 1977, Cooke introduced viewers to the very first season of “Poldark” on MASTERPIECE | PBS, setting the stage for one of public television’s most beloved dramas. Relive this iconic introduction from The Linda and Andrew Egendorf Masterpiece Theatre Alistair Cooke Collection in the American Archive of Public Broadcasting, courtesy of GBH: https://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-b4316100c89 | American Archive of Public Broadcasting