Profile of the Day: Fred Rogers

Fred Rogers

Do you remember watching Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood growing up? On this day in 1967, the beloved children’s television show starring Fred Rogers taped its very first episode. The popular show would run for 31 seasons and produce nearly 900 episodes.

Although he studied to become an ordained minister, Rogers’s career took an unexpected turn into television after returning home to find his parents had purchased a brand new TV. Disappointed with the programs available to viewers, Rogers saw there was great potential to create programs that could educate and nurture viewers.

In 1967, Rogers developed Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood at WQED, a public access channel in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. The program was geared towards children and spread the message of acceptance, kindness, and love to young viewers. In February 1968, the show premiered for the first time nationwide on PBS and remained on the air until August 2001.

Fun fact: Did you know Rogers’s iconic sweaters were each knitted by his mother?

Explore Fred Rogers’s family tree on Geni and share your connection to everyone’s favorite neighbor!
 

View Fred Rogers’s Geni Profile

Image: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration