View source for Gaylord Nelson

{{Short description|American politician (1916–2005)}}
{{Use American English|date=June 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2023}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name          = Gaylord Nelson
|image         = Gaylord Nelson.jpg
|caption       = Nelson in 1963
|jr/sr         = United States Senator
|state         = [[Wisconsin]]
|term_start    = January 8, 1963
|term_end      = January 3, 1981
|predecessor   = [[Alexander Wiley]]
|successor     = [[Bob Kasten]]
|order1        = 35th
|office1       = Governor of Wisconsin
|lieutenant1   = [[Philleo Nash]]<br />[[Warren P. Knowles]] 
|term_start1   = January 5, 1959
|term_end1     = January 7, 1963
|predecessor1  = [[Vernon Wallace Thomson]]
|successor1    = [[John W. Reynolds Jr.|John Reynolds]]
|state_senate2 = Wisconsin
|district2     = [[Wisconsin's 26th State Senate district|26th]]
|term_start2   = January 3, 1949
|term_end2     = January 5, 1959
|predecessor2  = [[Fred Risser (Progressive politician)|Fred Risser]]
|successor2    = [[Horace W. Wilkie]]
|birth_name    = Gaylord Anton Nelson
|birth_date    = {{birth date|1916|6|4}}
|birth_place   = [[Clear Lake, Wisconsin]], U.S.
|death_date    = {{death date and age|2005|7|3|1916|6|4}}
|death_place   = [[Kensington, Maryland]], U.S.
|restingplace  = Clear Lake Cemetery, {{nobreak|Clear Lake, Wisconsin}}
|party         = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
|spouse        = {{marriage|Carrie Lee Dotson|1947}}
|children      = 3
|education     = [[San Jose State University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])<br />[[University of Wisconsin–Madison]] ([[Bachelor of Laws|LLB]])
|allegiance    = United States
|branch        = [[United States Army]]
|battles       = [[World War II]]
|awards        = [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]] (1995)
}}

'''Gaylord Anton Nelson''' (June 4, 1916{{spaced ndash}}July 3, 2005) was an American politician and environmentalist from [[Wisconsin]] who served as a [[United States senator]] and [[Governor of Wisconsin|governor]]. He was a member of the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] and the founder of [[Earth Day]], which launched a new wave of [[environmentalism|environmental activism]].

==Early life and education==
Nelson was born in 1916 in [[Clear Lake, Wisconsin]], the son of Mary (Bradt), a nurse, and Anton Nelson, a country doctor. He had Norwegian and Irish ancestry.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Nelson, Gaylord Anton |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/nelson-gaylord-anton|access-date=April 21, 2021|website=Encyclopedia.com }}</ref> He grew up and was educated in the local public schools. In 1939, he received a bachelor's in political science at what is now [[San Jose State University]] in [[San Jose, California]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Distinguished Alumni|url=http://www.sjsu.edu/about_sjsu/history/alumni/|publisher=SJSU |accessdate=June 7, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141028183612/http://www.sjsu.edu/about_sjsu/history/alumni/ |archive-date= Oct 28, 2014 }}</ref> In 1942, he received an [[Bachelor of Laws|LL.B]]. degree from the [[University of Wisconsin Law School]] in [[Madison, Wisconsin|Madison]]<ref>University of Wisconsin-Madison News. "[http://news.wisc.edu/alumni-park-opening-date-first-featured-grads-announced/ Alumni Park opening date, first featured grads announced]". May 10, 2017.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url-status=dead |publisher=The Wilderness Society |url=http://www.nelsonearthday.net/docs/nelson_231-4_medal_of_freedom_press_release.pdf |title=Earth Day Founder Gaylord Nelson to Receive Medal of Freedom |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170322193957/http://nelsonearthday.net/docs/nelson_231-4_medal_of_freedom_press_release.pdf |archive-date=March 22, 2017 |via=Gaylord Nelson and Earth Day }}</ref> and was admitted to the bar. He practiced as a lawyer before serving in the [[United States Army]], during which time he saw action in the [[Okinawa campaign]] during [[World War II]]. He rose to the rank of first lieutenant.

==Politics==
[[File:Gaylord Nelson (WI).png|upright|thumb|left|Nelson as Governor]]
[[File:GaylordNelson.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Nelson as U.S. Senator]]
In 1948, Nelson was elected to the [[Wisconsin Senate]]. He remained there until [[1958 Wisconsin gubernatorial election|1958]], when he was elected governor of Wisconsin. He served for four years as governor, in two two-year terms, before being elected to the [[United States Senate]] in [[1962 United States Senate election in Wisconsin|1962]]. He served three consecutive terms as a senator from 1963 to 1981. In 1963, he convinced President [[John F. Kennedy]] to take a national speaking tour to discuss conservation issues. Senator Nelson founded [[Earth Day]], which began as a teach-in about environmental issues on April 22, 1970.<ref name="State Journal obit">{{cite web|last1=Seely|first1=Ron|title=A Wisconsin giant; Founding Earth Day one of many achievements of the former governor and senator Gaylord Nelson: 1916-2005|url=http://host.madison.com/news/a-wisconsin-giant-founding-earth-day-one-of-many-achievements/article_de569925-bf4b-58b6-8ddd-37ad1c4d726a.html |url-access=subscription |website=Wisconsin State Journal|access-date=April 23, 2015|date=July 4, 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050731084922/http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/local/index.php?ntid=45730&ntpid=1|archive-date=July 31, 2005|url-status=live}}</ref> During Congressional debate on air pollution and emissions from automobiles in 1970, Nelson also sponsored an amendment to the [[Clean Air Act (United States)|Clean Air Act]] which would have phased out gasoline-powered automobiles in favor of electric or steam-powered vehicles. The bill was defeated due to lobbying from automotive manufacturers.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Stern |first=Scott |date=August 28, 2024 |title=The forgotten fight to ban gas-powered cars in the 1960s |url=https://grist.org/transportation/the-forgotten-fight-to-ban-gas-powered-cars-in-the-1960s/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240828102249/https://grist.org/transportation/the-forgotten-fight-to-ban-gas-powered-cars-in-the-1960s/ |archive-date=August 28, 2024 |access-date=August 31, 2024 |work=Grist}}</ref>

During his [[1968 United States Senate election in Wisconsin|1968 re-election campaign]], Nelson was praised by [[Vince Lombardi]], the General Manager and former coach of the [[Green Bay Packers]], as the "nation's #1 conservationist" at a banquet in [[Oshkosh, Wisconsin|Oshkosh]]. Nelson's campaign turned Lombardi's banquet speech into a radio and television campaign commercial, infuriating Lombardi, the [[Wisconsin Republican Party]], and Vince's wife, Marie, who was a staunch Republican.<ref>{{cite book |last=Maraniss|first=David|date=1999|title=When Pride Still Mattered|url=https://archive.org/details/whenpridestillma00mara|url-access=registration|publisher=Simon & Schuster |isbn=0-684-87290-0}}</ref>

Although known primarily for his environmental work, Nelson also was a leading consumer advocate, strong supporter of civil rights and civil liberties, and one of the early outspoken opponents of the [[Vietnam War]].<ref name="JS obit">{{cite web|last1=Aukofer|first1=Frank A.|title=Gaylord Nelson: Earth Day founder was a voice crying out for the wilderness|url=http://www.jsonline.com/news/state/jul05/337764.asp|website=Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel|access-date=April 23, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060131115450/http://www.jsonline.com/news/state/jul05/337764.asp|archive-date=January 31, 2006}}</ref> In 1969, Nelson was one of four senators to [[Hog Island (Wisconsin)#Senate hearing|introduce a bill to establish the Wisconsin Islands Wilderness]].<ref name=subcompublic228>[https://books.google.com/books?id=9wwmAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA228 Designation of Wilderness Areas: Hearings Before the Subcommittees on Public Lands and National Parks and Recreation of the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs], 1970, page 228–229</ref>

In 1970, Nelson called for Congressional hearings on the safety of [[combined oral contraceptive pill]]s, which were famously called "The [[Nelson Pill Hearings]]." As a result of the hearings, side-effect disclosure in patient inserts was required for the pill{{spaced ndash}}the first such disclosure for a pharmaceutical drug.<ref>{{cite web|title=A Planetary Loss. Senator Nelson had more than one string to his bow.|publisher=Healthy Skepticism|first=Barbara|last=Seaman|date=July 2005|url=http://www.healthyskepticism.org/news/issue.php?id=12|access-date=March 11, 2007}}</ref>

Nelson further attempted to overhaul how [[Medication|pharmaceuticals]] were marketed, proposing a bill that would require [[Pharmaceutical industry|drug manufacturers]] to prove both the safety and efficacy of their marketed drugs in 1971.<ref>{{cite news |last=Kirkman |first=Don |date=1971-07-22 |title=Stricter Control of Drugs to Be Asked |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/773802828/ |work=[[Knoxville News Sentinel]] |access-date=2024-04-16 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |issue=29,075 |page=24}}</ref> His office received a memorandum in 1975 stating that both [[Sominex]] and its competitor [[Diphenhydramine|Compoz]] had been shown ineffective when compared to [[Placebo|placebos]], in spite of the US$34 million spent on [[sleeping aid|sleeping aids]] in 1974.<ref>{{cite news |last=Anderson |first=Jack |date=1975-10-17 |title=Washington merry-go-round {{!}} Public service profitable for senator |work=Delphos Tri County Daily Herald |volume=106 |issue=106 |page=6 |via=[[NewspaperArchive.com]]}}</ref>
 
Nelson was also a noted advocate of small business. While chairman of the Senate Small Business Committee, he led successful efforts to authorize the first modern White House Conference on Small Business, create the system of Small Business Development Centers at U.S. universities, and improve the way that federal agencies regulate small businesses and other small entities, the [[Regulatory Flexibility Act]].<ref name="JS obit"/><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Verkuil|first1=Paul A.|title=A critical guide to the Regulatory Flexibility Act|journal=Duke Law Journal|date=April 1982|volume=31|issue=2|page=227|url=http://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2804&context=dlj}}</ref>

In 1973, Nelson was one of the three senators who opposed the nomination of [[Gerald Ford]] to be [[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]] (the other two being [[Thomas Eagleton]] and [[William Hathaway]]).<ref>{{Cite news |date=1973-11-28 |title=FORD IS APPROVED BY SENATE, 92‐3; HOUSE SET TO ACT (Published 1973) |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1973/11/28/archives/ford-is-approved-by-senate-923-house-set-to-act-final-vote-expected.html |access-date=2025-09-29 |language=en}}</ref>

==Environmentalism==
After Nelson's [[United States Senate election in Wisconsin, 1980|1980]] defeat for re-election, he became counselor for [[The Wilderness Society (United States)|The Wilderness Society]] in January 1981. He received the [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]] in September 1995 in recognition of his environmental work.

Nelson was inducted into the Wisconsin Conservation Hall of Fame in 1986.<ref>[https://wchf.org/gaylord-nelson/ Wisconsin Conservation Hall of Fame]</ref> The Wisconsin Conservation Hall of fame is located at the Schmeeckle Reserve Visitor Center in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. The visitor center is maintained by the [[University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point|University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point]].

Nelson viewed the stabilization of the nation's population as an important aspect of environmentalism. In his words:

<blockquote>The bigger the population gets, the more serious the problems become ... We have to address the population issue. The United Nations, with the U.S. supporting it, took the position in Cairo in 1994 that every country was responsible for stabilizing its own population. It can be done. But in this country, it's phony to say "I'm for the environment but not for limiting immigration."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www2.jsonline.com/news/metro/apr01/five22s1042101a.asp|work=Milwaukee Journal Sentinel|date=2001-04-22|title=Earth Day founder sees some progress|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010603113027/http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/apr01/five22s1042101a.asp|archive-date=2001-06-03|access-date=2007-03-11}}</ref></blockquote>

He also rejected the suggestion that economic development should take precedence over environmental protection:

<blockquote>The economy is a wholly owned subsidiary of the environment, not the other way around.<ref>{{cite book|title=Beyond Earth Day: Fulfilling the Promise|first=Gaylord|last=Nelson|date=November 2002|publisher=Wisconsin Press|url=https://archive.org/details/beyondearthdayfu00nels_0|isbn=0-299-18040-9|url-access=registration}}</ref></blockquote>

In 2002, Nelson appeared on ''[[To Tell the Truth]]'' as a contestant, with his founding of Earth Day highlighted.

==Death and legacy==
Nelson died of [[circulatory system|cardiovascular]] failure at age 89 on July 3, 2005.

The Gaylord Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies (or Nelson Institute) at the [[University of Wisconsin–Madison]] is named after him in recognition of his love for nature.<ref name="Legacy">{{cite web |url=http://nelson.wisc.edu/about/nelson-legacy.php | title=The Nelson Legacy | publisher=The Nelson Institute | access-date=September 30, 2016}}</ref> In addition, the [[Gaylord Nelson Wilderness]] in the [[Apostle Islands National Lakeshore]] –comprising more than 80% of the land area of the park – was named after him in honor of his efforts to have the park created.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wilderness.org/AboutUs/Nelson_Bio.cfm |title=Gaylord Nelson &#124; The Wilderness Society |publisher=Wilderness.org |date=October 22, 2008 |access-date=March 20, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081007180438/http://www.wilderness.org/AboutUs/Nelson_Bio.cfm |archive-date=October 7, 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/apis/learn/management/wilderness.htm |title=Apostle Islands National Lakeshore – Gaylord Nelson Wilderness |publisher=[[U.S. National Park Service]]|access-date=March 20, 2010}}</ref> [[Governor Nelson State Park]] near [[Waunakee, Wisconsin]], is also named after him. The elementary school in [[Clear Lake, Wisconsin]] is named Gaylord A. Nelson Educational Center.

==References==
{{reflist}}
*{{bioguide}}

==Further reading==
*Christofferson, Bill''. The Man from Clear Lake: Earth Day Founder Gaylord Nelson''. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 2004. {{ISBN|0299196402}}
* Jones, Clayton R. "[http://minds.wisconsin.edu/bitstream/handle/1793/35555/Jones.pdf Gaylord Nelson, Father of Earth Day: Bridging the Gap from Conservation to Environmentalism]" (Senior thesis). University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, 2009.
*Nelson, Gaylord, Susan Campbell and Paul R Wozniak. ''Beyond Earth Day: Fulfilling the Promise''. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 2002. {{ISBN|0299180409}}

==External links==
* [http://www.nelsonearthday.net/ Gaylord Nelson and Earth Day: The Making of the Modern Environmental Movement] – a narrative account of the origins of Earth Day, Gaylord Nelson's political career
* [http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-mss01020 Gaylord Nelson papers, 1954–2006] held by the Wisconsin Historical Society.
* {{C-SPAN|6615}}
* {{Find a Grave|11283458}}
{{CongBio|N000033}} Retrieved on 2008-02-06
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110715083619/http://www.pikappsonline.com/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=21 Gaylord Nelson (Gamma Nu) – Former U.S. Senator] – Biography.

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{{Portal bar|Biography|Politics|United States|Wisconsin|Environment}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, Gaylord}}
[[Category:1916 births]]
[[Category:2005 deaths]]
[[Category:American environmentalists]]
[[Category:Democratic Party governors of Wisconsin]]
[[Category:Democratic Party United States senators from Wisconsin]]
[[Category:Democratic Party Wisconsin state senators]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Wisconsin]]
[[Category:People from Polk County, Wisconsin]]
[[Category:Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients]]
[[Category:San Jose State University alumni]]
[[Category:Sierra Club awardees]]
[[Category:United States Army officers]]
[[Category:United States Army personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:University of Wisconsin Law School alumni]]
[[Category:20th-century United States senators]]
[[Category:20th-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature]]