JFK+50: Volume 5, No. 1935
WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS' DINNER HELD TONIGHTWashington, D.C. (JFK+50) Tonight President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama will attend the White House Correspondents' Dinner held in the ballroom of the Washington Hilton Hotel. The dinner is a scholarship benefit for gifted students in college journalism programs.
The White House Correspondents Association was founded on February 25, 1914 in response to the rumor that a Congressional committee was going to choose which journalists could attend the news conferences of President Woodrow Wilson.
The first WHC Dinner was held in 1920 and Calvin Coolidge was the first POTUS to attend. Since that time every POTUS has attended at least one dinner during his term of office.
In 1962, the first woman White House correspondent, Helen Thomas, successfully convinced President John F. Kennedy not to attend until the group's ban on female reporters was lifted.
The first dinner, held at the Old Arlington Hotel was attended by fifty guests.
SOURCE
"History of the White House Correspondents' Dinner," by Jennie Cohen, April 27, 2012, www.history.com/
The Hilton Washington
1919 Connecticut Ave NW
Photo by AgnosticPreachersKid
June 8, 2010
