A timeline of Alistair Cooke's life
Nov 20 1908: Born Alfred Cooke in Salford, Lancs, to Mary Elizabeth ("Cissie") Byme and Samuel Cooke, iron fitter and salesman, Methodist lay preacher
1920: Blackpool secondary school
1927-32: Cambridge University. Reads English, launches theatre Mummers, edits Granta magazine
1930: Legally takes name Alistair
1932-43: Commonwealth fellowship studies at Yale, Harvard. US travels begin. Writes Hollywood interviews for the Observer
1932-34: To London as BBC radio film critic. In 1934 marries Ruth Emerson (son John born 1940).
1938-43: From US, contributes to BBC, the Times, Daily Herald
1941: Takes US citizenship
1945: Covers UN founding conference for Manchester Guardian
1946: First "American Letter" for BBC. Marries Jane White Hawkes, painter, war widow with children Holly, Stephen
1948-72: America correspondent, the Guardian, based in New York
1949: Daughter Susan born
1952-61: Host's CBS-TV flagship culture programme, Omnibus
1968: On the scene when Robert Kennedy shot, Los Angeles
1971-1992: Hosts Masterpiece Theatre on PBS-TV, showcasing British historical dramas
1972: Epic BBC TV documentary series Alistair Cooke's America airs in Britain, United States
1974: Addresses US Congress
Feb 20 2004: Broadcasts last Letter from America, No 2869, following lung cancer diagnosis
March 30 2004: Dies, Manhattan