LOS ANGELES (AP) _ Playboy has announced it will no longer run photos of completely naked women, a change that will take place in 2016. Here are some other milestones in the magazine’s history:
1953
The first Playboy Magazine is published in December, featuring Marilyn Monroe on the cover and in a “Sweetheart of the Month” color nude photo inside. The magazine sells more than 50,000 copies.
1954
Playboy’s second issue in January is the first to feature a “Playmate of the Month.” The term is used in a spread featuring Margie Harrison.
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1955
Hugh Hefner wins a lawsuit against the U.S. Post Office, which considered Playboy obscene. The magazine is granted the same second-class mailing privileges held by other magazines.
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1956
Marian Stafford is featured in the magazine’s first triple-page, foldout centerfold in March.
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1959
The first Playboy Jazz Festival is held and sells out in Chicago. Performers include Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald.
Also this year, Hugh Hefner buys a home in Chicago that becomes the Playboy Mansion.
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1960
The first Playboy Club, staffed by Playboy Bunnies, opens in Chicago. The worldwide chain of clubs eventually will have 230,000 keyholders.
1962
The magazine introduces the “Playboy Interview” with jazz legend Miles Davis interviewed by Alex Haley.
1965
Jennifer Jackson becomes the first African-American Playmate of the Month in the March issue. Jean Bell appeared on the cover of the January 1970 issue with four other Playmates.
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1969
Playboy opens a television and motion picture division, Playboy Productions, in Los Angeles.
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1971
In October 1971, Darine Stern became the first African-American model featured alone on a cover.
Hefner buys a West Los Angeles estate to become Playboy Mansion West and eventually makes it his permanent home.
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1972
For the January issue, Marilyn Cole is the first playmate to feature full frontal nudity.
Also, Playboy’s first foreign edition is launched this year in Germany. Currently, 29 editions are published in more than 50 countries.
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1988
Hefner’s daughter, Christie Hefner, becomes chairman and chief executive of Playboy Enterprises Inc. Hefner remains editor-in-chief of the magazine.
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2009
The November issue features the magazine’s first cartoon character cover model _ a fetching, blue-haired Marge Simpson.
Also, 60-year-old Patricia Paay becomes the oldest woman to pose for Playboy, appearing in Dutch edition for December. The oldest model to make the cover of the U.S. edition was Farah Fawcett, then 50, in 1997. The October 2006 U.S. issue featured a nude photo of Mamie Van Doren, then 75, but it was not taken by Playboy.
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2015
Playboy announces it will no longer run photos of completely naked women.
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Sources include Playboy website.
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