PARIS — The date was July 20, 1969, the clock read 10:56 p.m. on the East Coast of the United States, as much of the world tuned in by radio or television to follow NASA astronaut Neil Armstrong take that historic-making first step on the moon.
On the 50th anniversary of that historic landing, we look back at how the event was covered in the press. In a time before smartphones and the internet, people all over the world were united by the experience of watching or listening to Armstrong’s “giant leap” — or reading about it just afterwards in the press.
As those first steps were broadcasted live, newspapers began reporting one of the most momentous events in human history. By the following morning, a Monday, headlines in papers from Mexico, to Bulgaria, to South Africa proclaimed Apollo 11’s improbable accomplishment.
Below is a collection front pages (and a few magazine covers) from around the world announcing nothing less than the dawn of a new era.
THE UNITED STATES
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MEXICO
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BRAZIL
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IRELAND
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THE UNITED KINGDOM
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FRANCE
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THE NETHERLANDS
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de Buzz Krant
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SWEDEN
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NORWAY
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DENMARK
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GERMANY
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Der Abend
ITALY
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AUSTRIA
POLAND
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YUGOSLAVIA
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BULGARIA
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TURKEY
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SOVIET UNION (MOSCOW)
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ISRAEL
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SOUTH KOREA
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JAPAN
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THAILAND
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SOUTH VIETNAM
The Saigon Post
AUSTRALIA
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SOUTH AFRICA
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MAGAZINES
FRANCE
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THE UNITED STATES
ITALY
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BRAZIL
GERMANY
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