Traveling to remote sites around the world, Lowell Thomas brought news and a sense of adventure into America’s living rooms. However, it was not just the news story that captured his listener’s imagination, but Thomas himself. Born on April 6, 1892, in Woodington, Ohio, Thomas grew up in Cripple Creek, Colorado.
After becoming an initiate of Beta-Omicron and graduating from DU, Thomas pioneered radio journalism with a career that spanned 50 years. He made his first sojourn to the battlefield during World War I, and began a daily newscast on NBC in 1930. Thomas later worked for CBS News during his long globetrotting career.
Thomas was the first reporter to enter Germany following World War I, bringing back eyewitness accounts. Between his standard opening, “Good evening, everybody,” and his closing, “So long until tomorrow,” people knew they were hearing a solid, objective voice of authority.
Before his career in radio, from 1919-1922 Thomas traveled the world, writing and lecturing. Thomas said his ambition was “to know more about this globe than anyone else ever has.”
During World War II, Thomas broadcast detailed accounts of the war, often from a mobile truck behind front lines.
Lowell Thomas was named Kappa Sigma Fraternity Man of the Year, an award established in 1937 to honor a Brother who has achieved fame in his industry. Lowell Thomas joined the Chapter Celestial in 1981 and was inducted posthumously into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1989.
