Daniel Irvin Rather Jr., born on October 31, 1931, in Wharton, Texas, is an American journalist, commentator, and former national evening news anchor. He began his career in broadcasting while still a student at Sam Houston State Teachers College in Huntsville, Texas, where he edited the college newspaper and worked part-time at a local radio station. After a brief stint in the U.S. Marine Corps, from which he was discharged due to a childhood bout with rheumatic fever, Rather joined the Houston Chronicle in 1954 before transitioning to television. He gained national prominence in September 1961 for his reporting during Hurricane Carla, which helped save thousands of lives by providing critical weather updates. Rather joined CBS News in 1962 as a correspondent, covering major events including the Kennedy assassination, the Vietnam War, the Watergate scandal, and civil rights struggles. Rising through the ranks at CBS, Rather reported from key global hotspots such as Afghanistan during the Soviet invasion, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Gulf War, the 9/11 attacks, the Iraq War, and the broader war on terror. In 1981, he succeeded Walter Cronkite as the anchor of CBS Evening News, a position he held for nearly 24 years until 2005. His tenure was marked by high viewership and influential journalism, though he faced criticism from conservatives for perceived liberal bias. Rather's career at CBS ended amid controversy over a 2004 report on President George W. Bush's National Guard service, known as the Killian documents scandal or 'Rathergate,' which led to his departure from the network. Since then, he has continued as an independent journalist, hosting the news program 'Dan Rather Reports' on HDNet from 2006 to 2010 and writing books such as 'What Unites Us' (2017). He remains a prominent figure in American media, often reflecting on the state of journalism.