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If you were alive in the 1960s or '70s, you tuned in to "Uncle Walter" on your TV for the most important news of the day.

Known as "the most trusted man in America," Walter Cronkite was a legendary broadcast journalist many turned to for decades to get the latest news on World War II, Watergate and the Vietnam War, among other things. In honor of the 100th anniversary of his birth Friday, Google created an animated doodle highlighting some key moments in his career, including his memorable reports on the assassination of President John Kennedy and the Apollo 11 moon landing.

Cronkite, who reported for CBS from 1950 until his retirement in 1981, is remembered for embodying a reporting approach based in objectivity, accuracy, fairness and integrity. He was also an outspoken advocate for respecting the standards of responsible journalism.

Now playing: Watch this: A look back at Walter Cronkite's life and career

"Press freedom is essential to our democracy, but the press must not abuse this license. We must be careful with our power," he once wrote. "The free press, after all, is the central nervous system of a democratic society."

Cronkite humbly signed off from his anchor desk on the CBS Evening News for the final time on March 6, 1981, with his familiar catchphrase, "And that's the way it is," which, according to tradition, was followed by the date and a final "good night."

Cronkite died in 2009 at the age of 92.

(Disclosure: CBS is the parent company of CBS Interactive, the publisher of CNET.)