60 years of celebrations
The first celebration of CERN's anniversary featured in the CERN Bulletin, 1979.
As CERN wraps up a month of events surrounding its 60th anniversary, the Bulletin looks back on September 29ths that have come and gone. What was hitting the CERN headlines when the Organization turned 15 - 30 - 45? Brace yourselves for a trip back in time with previous birthday editions of the CERN (a.k.a. "Weekly") Bulletin.
Bulletin Issue No.1/1965 - Bulletin Issue No. 40/1969
The very first edition of the Weekly Bulletin arrived on CERN desktops on 29 March 1965. The Organization was only just out of its first decade, but it was already a hub of activity, as demonstrated by the various seminars and training events that graced the cover of the first Bulletin.
By the time CERN turned 15 in 1969, the Organization was preparing for its second Open Day. Discussion of the event made the cover of the Bulletin, announcing that sections of the ISR were to be opened to the public for the first time.
Bulletin Issue No. 40/1974 - Bulletin Issue No. 40/1979
Five years later, in September 1974, the Bulletin team was busy exploring the work on the newest accelerator on the block, the SPS. No mention of an anniversary though...
For CERN's 25th anniversary, commemorative logos made their first appearance! In September 1979, the Bulletin celebrated the Organization's birthday with a celebratory sketch and a "25th" anniversary logo in the corner.
Bulletin Issue No. 40/1984 - Bulletin Issue No. 40/1989
The “bigwigs” were brought out for CERN's 30th birthday in 1984: celebratory events were featured on cover of the Bulletin, with Nobel Prize winners and kings getting equal treatment.
By 1989 the celebrations had died down: the Bulletin focussed on the excellent beam results from LEP, which had only just started up that year.
Bulletin Issue No. 40/1994 - Bulletin Issue No. 40/1999
As CERN entered its fifth decade, the Bulletin honoured the occasion with an anniversary logo on the front page. The cover article, however, focused on one of the Organization's breadwinners: the SPS.
In September 1999, the Bulletin embraced the potential of the World Wide Web: a link to the digital Bulletin featured in the header, and the cover article discussed digital shopping to help the CERN Library!
Bulletin Issue No. 40/2004 - Bulletin Issue No. 40/2009
CERN's 50th anniversary - or Golden Jubilee – in September 2004 was deservedly celebrated in the Bulletin's cover article. During the commemorative event featured, CERN personnel were entertained with an evening of diverse musical selections ranging from jazz to rap as well as a speech from the Director-General.
By 2009, the Bulletin looked a lot like the publication it is today. French and English have gone their separate ways and Director-General Rolf Heuer graced the cover with his "Word from the DG".
We hope you enjoyed this trip through time with the CERN Bulletin. If you want to read more, check out more back issues of the CERN Bulletin on CDS: click here for 1965-1999 or click here for 1999-now. Paper editions are also available at the CERN Library.
These back editions are available thanks to the hard work of the CERN Library and their colleagues in IT-CIS. Read more about their work in "Behind the scenes of GS: CERN's Beating Heart".
