Bob Simon
A CBS News correspondent whose fearless reporting from global war zones defined a career of unparalleled depth and moral clarity.
1941–2015 (age 74)·American journalist·Birthday: May 29·The Silent Generation
Biography
For over five decades, Bob Simon's voice was a beacon of sober intelligence cutting through the chaos of world events. A master foreign correspondent for CBS News, he covered the Vietnam War, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and countless conflicts in between with a writer's eye for detail and a philosopher's search for meaning. His most searing experience came in 1991 during the Gulf War, when he and his crew were captured by Iraqi forces and held for 40 days, an ordeal he later chronicled with unflinching honesty. Simon found a second act as a cornerstone of '60 Minutes,' where his elegant, probing style flourished. His pieces, whether profiling a controversial figure or investigating a scientific mystery, were less about gotcha moments and more about nuanced understanding. He died in 2015, not in some far-off war zone, but in a New York City car accident, a sudden end to a life spent meticulously explaining a dangerous world.
The Silent Generation
1928–1945
Born between the Depression and the end of WWII. Too young to fight, old enough to remember. They became the conformist middle managers of the 1950s — and the civil rights leaders who quietly dismantled Jim Crow.
Bob was born in 1941, placing them squarely in The Silent Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Bob Was Born
The biggest hits of 1941
#1 Movie
Sergeant York
Best Picture
How Green Was My Valley
Bob's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1941Born
Pearl Harbor attack brings the US into WWII
Gas: $0.19/galHome: $3,060Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Chattanooga Choo Choo" — Glenn MillerBest Picture: How Green Was My Valley
1946Started school
United Nations holds its first General Assembly
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $5,150Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Prisoner of Love" — Perry ComoBest Picture: The Best Years of Our Lives
1954Became a teenager
Brown v. Board of Education desegregates US schools
Gas: $0.29/galHome: $8,925Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Little Things Mean a Lot" — Kitty KallenBest Picture: On the Waterfront
1957Could drive
Sputnik launches the Space Age
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $10,550Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"All Shook Up" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: The Bridge on the River Kwai
1959Could vote
Fidel Castro takes power in Cuba
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $12,400Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"The Battle of New Orleans" — Johnny HortonBest Picture: Ben-Hur
1962Turned 21
Cuban Missile Crisis brings the world to the brink
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,800Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Stranger on the Shore" — Acker BilkBest Picture: Lawrence of Arabia
1971Turned 30
Voting age lowered to 18 in the US
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $18,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Joy to the World" — Three Dog NightBest Picture: The French Connection
1981Turned 40
MTV launches; first Space Shuttle flight; AIDS identified
Gas: $1.31/galHome: $52,300Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Bette Davis Eyes" — Kim CarnesBest Picture: Chariots of Fire
1991Turned 50
Soviet Union dissolves; World Wide Web goes public
Gas: $1.14/galHome: $82,400Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" — Bryan AdamsBest Picture: The Silence of the Lambs
2001Turned 60
September 11 attacks transform the world
Gas: $1.46/galHome: $126,400Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Hanging by a Moment" — LifehouseBest Picture: A Beautiful Mind
2011Turned 70
Osama bin Laden killed; Arab Spring sweeps the Middle East
Gas: $3.53/galHome: $138,400Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Rolling in the Deep" — AdeleBest Picture: The Artist
2015Died at 74
Paris climate agreement; same-sex marriage legalized in the US
Gas: $2.43/galHome: $171,900Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Uptown Funk" — Mark Ronson ft. Bruno MarsBest Picture: Spotlight
Key Achievements
- Won 27 Emmy Awards for his television journalism over his career.
- Served as a chief Middle East correspondent for CBS News during periods of intense conflict in the 1970s and 80s.
- Reported over 200 stories for '60 Minutes' as a correspondent from 1996 until his death.
- Authored a memoir, 'Forty Days,' detailing his captivity during the Gulf War.
Did You Know?
He was the first American journalist to report live from Tel Aviv during the Scud missile attacks of the Gulf War in 1991.
Simon briefly worked as a stringer for The New York Times before joining CBS News in 1967.
He was fluent in French and often conducted interviews in the language without a translator.
His final '60 Minutes' story, about the drug Thalidomide, aired the night after his death.
“The older I get, the more I believe the best reporting is done from the neck up.”
