Walter Cronkite, whose steadying, avuncular presence made “The CBS Evening News’’ the dominant network news program for much of his 19 years as its anchorman, died yesterday in New York. He was 92.

Mr. Cronkite’s longtime chief of staff, Marlene Adler, said he died at 7:42 p.m. at his Manhattan home surrounded by family, the Associated Press reported. She said the cause of death was cerebral vascular disease.

Columnist Nicholas von Hoffman once called Mr. Cronkite America’s “national security blanket,’’ and public opinion polls often named him as the man Americans trusted most. One such survey, in 1973, found that Mr. Cronkite led the runner-up, President Nixon, by 16 percentage points.

Mr. Cronkite’s nightly signoff, “And that’s the way it is,’’ became a fixture of America’s aural decor, and the 20 million viewers of his evening newscast, as well as the many more who turned to him for coverage of national traumas and natural disasters, lunar landings, and landslide elections, came to regard him as the network news anchor. That opinion was in ternational: In Sweden, anchormen and women are known as “Cronkiters.’’

As David Halberstam wrote of Mr. Cronkite in his book “The Powers That Be’’: “He had that special quality that television demands, that audiences sense, and that is somehow intangible - he had weight; he projected a kind of authority.’’

“It is impossible to imagine CBS News, journalism, or indeed America without Walter Cronkite,’’ Sean McManus, CBS News president, said in a statement released to the AP. “More than just the best and most trusted anchor in history, he guided America through our crises, tragedies, and also our victories and greatest moments.’’

“He was the consummate television newsman,’’ Don Hewitt, a longtime CBS News executive and creator of the long-running “60 Minutes’’ news program, told Reuters. “He had all the credentials to be a writer, an editor, a broadcaster. There was only one Walter Cronkite, and there may never be another one.’’

President Obama praised Mr. Cronkite last night for his deep sense of integrity.

“For decades, Walter Cronkite was the most trusted voice in America,’’ Obama said. “His rich baritone reached millions of living rooms every night, and in an industry of icons, Walter set the standard by which all others have been judged.

“Walter was always more than just an anchor. He was someone we could trust to guide us through the most important issues of the day; a voice of certainty in an uncertain world. He was family. . . . This country has lost an icon and a dear friend, and he will be truly missed.’’

Trying to account for her husband’s popularity, Betsy (Maxwell) Cronkite once said, “It’s because he looks like everyone’s dentist.’’

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