This Date with 8: November 3, 1948: Biggest Headline Whoopsie
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI)—On this day, in the year 1948, one of the most famously wrong headlines in history went to print.
It was early in the morning of November 3, and the results of the presidential election were being tallied. The Chicago Daily Tribune rushed its print of the morning paper, confident that New York Governor Thomas Dewey had won the presidential election.
The Chicago Daily Tribune had been decidedly against his opponent, incumbent President Truman. They'd even gone so far as to call him a "nincompoop."
But when the votes were all counted up, Harry S. Truman pulled off a stunning upset.
The next day, the president-elect held up the front page, error and all, and the photo became one of the most iconic images in American politics.
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