Gardner, John William

Gardner, John William
▪ 2003

      American social and political activist (b. Oct. 8, 1912, Los Angeles, Calif.—d. Feb. 16, 2002, Palo Alto, Calif.), had a more than half-century-long career of public service highlighted by his influence on education through his presidency of the philanthropic Carnegie Corporation of New York, by the introduction of Medicare during his years as secretary of health, education, and welfare, and by his efforts to reform the political system by increasing citizens' participation in government. To help bring about the latter, he founded (1970) and became the first chairman of Common Cause, a citizens' lobby that opposed the Vietnam War and promoted civil rights, campaign finance reform, and government accountability. Gardner studied psychology at Stanford University—dropping out for a year and a half to write fiction before earning bachelor's (1935) and master's (1936) degrees—and the University of California, Berkeley (Ph.D., 1938). He then taught psychology at Connecticut College and Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, Mass.; served in the marines during World War II; and went to work for the Carnegie Corporation, becoming its chairman in 1955. In that post he was able to exert enormous influence over American educational policy by guiding the choice of the country's top educators. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award given in the U.S., in 1964. Impressed by Gardner's accomplishments, Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965 named him secretary of health, education, and welfare, a position he held until 1968. While secretary he planned the White House Fellows Program and introduced the Medicare and Medicaid federal health insurance programs. Gardner then served as chairman of the Urban Coalition to address racial problems in the cities, but he soon came to realize that the best way to effect change was to reform the political system from within and thus founded Common Cause. That organization attracted hundreds of thousands of members and was still making its presence felt in the 21st century. Gardner left the chairmanship of Common Cause in 1977 but remained in public life.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • John William Draper — Infobox Scientist name = John William Draper box width = image width =150px caption = John William Draper birth date = May 5, 1811 birth place = St. Helens, Merseyside, England death date = January 4, 1882 death place = Hastings on Hudson, New… …   Wikipedia

  • John William Draper — Pour les articles homonymes, voir John, William et Draper. John William Draper John William Draper (5 mai 1811 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • John W. Gardner — John William Gardner (* 8. Oktober 1912 in Los Angeles, Kalifornien; † 16. Februar 2002 in Palo Alto, Kalifornien) war der 6. Gesundheits , Bildungs und Wohlfahrtsminister der Vereinigten Staaten unter Präsident Lyndon B. Johnson. Er war auch… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • John Branch Jr. — John Branch John Branch (* 4. November 1782 in Halifax, North Carolina; † 3. Januar 1863 in Enfield, North Carolina) war ein US amerikanischer Politiker und Gouverneur von North Carolina und Florida. Außerdem war er Marine …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • William Bradley Umstead — William Umstead William Bradley Umstead (* 13. Mai 1895 im Durham County, North Carolina; † 7. November 1954) war ein US amerikanischer Politiker und 63. Gouverneur von North Carolina. Inhaltsverzeichnis …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • William Kerr Scott — US Senat William Kerr Scott (* 17. April 1896 in Haw River, North Carolina; † 16. April 1958 in Burlington, North Carolina) war ein US amerikanischer Politiker und Mitglied der Demokratischen Partei. Er war von 1949 bis 1953 …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • William Umstead — William Bradley Umstead (* 13. Mai 1895 im Durham County, North Carolina; † 7. November 1954) war ein US amerikanischer Politiker und 63. Gouverneur von North Carolina. Inhaltsverzeichnis …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • John Morehead (North Carolina) — John Motley Morehead (* 4. Juli 1796 im Pittsylvania County, Virginia; † 27. August 1866 in Greensboro, North Carolina) war ein US amerikanischer Politiker und 29. Gouverneur von North Carolina. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Frühe Jahre und politischer… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • William Davie — William Richardson Davie (* 20. Juni 1756 in Cumberland England; † 5. November 1820 auf seinem Besitz Tivoli in South Carolina) war ein US amerikanischer Politiker und zehnter Gouverneur von North Carolina. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Frühe Jahre 2… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • William Kitchin — William Walton Kitchin (* 9. Oktober 1866 in Scotland County, North Carolina; † 9. November 1924 ebenda) war ein amerikanischer Politiker und 52. Gouverneur von North Carolina. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Frühe Jahre und politische Karriere 2 Gouverneur …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”