John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon in Chicago on September 26, 1960. (UPI/File) | License Photo

It was the debate that "changed the world."

On September 26, 1960, an estimated 70 million people watched Sen. John F. Kennedy spar with Vice President Richard Nixon in the first ever nationally televised debate.


At 60-minutes long, the debate catapulted the handsome, fresh-faced Kennedy from a little-known Massachusetts senator to a full-blown television star. Nixon looked pale, tired and old in comparison.

Even Nixon knew it, later remarking that his campaign had underestimated the power of TV:

By God, I did not understand this enough in ’60. You know, I hated to do television shows.

[Via JFK Library on YouTube]

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