Born in Chicago, Illinois, Chancellor dropped out of high school, worked odd jobs and enlisted in the Army, serving in a public relations unit during World War II.

[4] Chancellor spent a number of years as a foreign correspondent in Europe, with postings in Vienna, London, Moscow, and Brussels (NATO Headquarters).

In July 1961, Chancellor replaced Dave Garroway as host of NBC's Today program, a role he filled for fourteen months.

Never comfortable with the soft news focus of Today, Chancellor asked for, and was granted, a release from his contract with the show in the summer of 1962.

He, Frank McGee, Edwin Newman, and Sander Vanocur comprised a team that covered the national political conventions in the 1960s so well, they were dubbed by industry observers as the "Four Horsemen".

NBC arranged the rotation by having McGee always broadcast from New York City and Brinkley continue at his customary Washington desk.

NBC did not have separate weekend anchors during this period, as it had just inaugurated a Sunday evening newscast in August 1970, so this format was employed seven days a week.

By 2000, all the traditional broadcast networks had adopted the present model, though with the colors switched; red for Republicans (as both begin with the same letter), and blue for Democrats.

[4] The author Anne Rivers Siddons gave her first book, a 1975 collection of nonfiction essays, the title John Chancellor Makes Me Cry.