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
MEXICO
BRAZIL
IRELAND
THE UNITED KINGDOM
FRANCE
THE NETHERLANDS
de Buzz Krant
SWEDEN
NORWAY
DENMARK
GERMANY
Der Abend
ITALY
AUSTRIA
POLAND
YUGOSLAVIA
BULGARIA
TURKEY
SOVIET UNION (MOSCOW)
ISRAEL
SOUTH KOREA
JAPAN
THAILAND
SOUTH VIETNAM
The Saigon Post
AUSTRALIA
SOUTH AFRICA
MAGAZINES
FRANCE
THE UNITED STATES
ITALY
BRAZIL
GERMANY
