View source for Sargent Shriver

{{short description|American diplomat, politician and activist (1915–2011)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2012}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Sargent Shriver
| image               = Sargent Shriver 1961.jpg
| caption             = Shriver in 1961
| office              = [[United States Ambassador to France]]
| president           = [[Lyndon B. Johnson]]<br />[[Richard Nixon]]
| term_start          = May 25, 1968
| term_end            = March 25, 1970
| predecessor         = [[Charles E. Bohlen]]
| successor           = [[Arthur K. Watson]]
| office1             = Director of the [[Office of Economic Opportunity]]
| president1          = Lyndon B. Johnson
| term_start1         = October 16, 1964
| term_end1           = March 23, 1968
| predecessor1        = Position established
| successor1          = Bertrand Harding
| office2             = 1st Director of the [[Peace Corps]]
| president2          = [[John F. Kennedy]]<br />Lyndon B. Johnson
| term_start2         = March 22, 1961
| term_end2           = February 28, 1966
| predecessor2        = Position established
| successor2          = [[Jack Vaughn]]
| office3             = [[President of the Chicago Board of Education]]
| term_start3         = October 26, 1955
| term_end3           = October 10, 1960
| predecessor3        = William B. Traynor
| successor3          = Thomas L. Marshall
| birth_name          = Robert Sargent Shriver Jr.
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1915|11|9}}
| birth_place         = [[Westminster, Maryland]], U.S.
| death_date          = {{death date and age|2011|1|18|1915|11|9}}
| death_place         = [[Bethesda, Maryland]], U.S.
| party               = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
| spouse              = {{marriage|[[Eunice Kennedy Shriver|Eunice Kennedy]]|May 23, 1953|August 11, 2009|end=died}}
| children            = {{flatlist|
* [[Bobby Shriver|Bobby]]
* [[Maria Shriver|Maria]]
* [[Timothy Shriver|Timothy]]
* [[Mark Kennedy Shriver|Mark]]
* [[Anthony Shriver|Anthony]]
}}
| relatives           = {{plainlist|
* [[Shriver family]]
* [[Kennedy family]] (by marriage)
}}
| signature           = Sargent Shriver Signature.svg
| signature_alt       = Cursive signature in ink
| education           = [[Yale University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]], [[Bachelor of Laws|LLB]])
| allegiance          = [[United States]]
| branch              = [[United States Navy]]
| serviceyears        = 1941–1945
| rank                = [[Lieutenant commander (United States)|Lieutenant commander]]
| unit                = {{USS|South Dakota|BB-57}}
| battles             = [[World War II]]
| mawards             = {{Indented plainlist|
* [[Purple Heart]]
* [[American Defense Service Medal]]
* [[American Campaign Medal]]
* [[Asiatic–Pacific Campaign Medal]]
* [[World War II Victory Medal (United States)|World War II Victory Medal]]<ref>{{cite web |title=SHRIVER-ROBERT {{!}} The United States Navy Memorial |url=https://navylog.navymemorial.org/shriver-robert-2 |website=navylog.navymemorial.org |access-date=August 20, 2025}}</ref>
}}
}}

'''Robert Sargent Shriver Jr.''' (November 9, 1915 – January 18, 2011) was an American diplomat, politician, and activist. He was a member of the [[Shriver family]] by birth, and a member of the [[Kennedy family]] through his marriage to [[Eunice Kennedy Shriver|Eunice Kennedy]]. Shriver was the driving force behind the creation of the [[Peace Corps]], and founded the [[Job Corps]], [[Head Start Program|Head Start]], [[AmeriCorps VISTA|VISTA]], [[Upward Bound]],<ref name="obitguar">{{cite web |last1=Reed |first1=Christopher |title=Sargent Shriver obituary: Brother-in-law of JFK who strove on behalf of America's poor |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/jan/19/sargent-shriver-obituary |website=The Guardian |access-date=22 February 2021 |language=en |date=19 January 2011}}</ref> and other programs as the architect of the 1960s [[War on Poverty]].<ref name="NYT-obit"/> He was the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]]'s nominee for vice president in the [[1972 United States presidential election|1972 presidential election]].

Born in [[Westminster, Maryland]], Shriver attended [[Yale University]], then [[Yale Law School]], graduating in 1941.<ref name="obitguar" /> An opponent of U.S. entry into [[World War II]], he helped establish the [[America First Committee]] but volunteered for the [[United States Navy]] before the Japanese [[attack on Pearl Harbor]]. During the war, he served in the South Pacific, participating in the [[Naval Battle of Guadalcanal]]. After being discharged from the navy, he worked as an assistant editor for ''[[Newsweek]]'' and met Eunice Kennedy, marrying her in 1953.

He worked on the 1960 presidential campaign of his brother-in-law, [[John F. Kennedy]], and helped establish the Peace Corps after Kennedy's victory. After Kennedy's assassination, Shriver served in the administration of [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] and helped establish several anti-poverty programs as director of the [[Office of Economic Opportunity]] from October 16, 1964, to March 22, 1968.<ref>[http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=26617 Remarks at the Swearing In of Sargent Shriver as Director, Office of Economic Opportunity.] The American Presidency Project. Retrieved 7 May 2015.</ref> He also served as the [[United States Ambassador to France]] from 1968 to 1970.<ref name="obitguar" /> In 1972, Democratic vice presidential nominee [[Thomas Eagleton]] resigned from the ticket, and Shriver was chosen as his replacement. The Democratic ticket of [[George McGovern]] and Shriver lost in a [[1972 United States presidential election|landslide election defeat]] to Republican President [[Richard Nixon]] and Vice President [[Spiro Agnew]]. Shriver briefly sought the [[Democratic Party presidential primaries, 1976|1976 Democratic presidential nomination]] but dropped out of the race after the first set of primaries.

After leaving office, he resumed the practice of law, becoming a partner with [[Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson]]. He also served as president of the [[Special Olympics]] and was briefly a part-owner of the [[Baltimore Orioles]]. He was diagnosed with [[Alzheimer's disease]] in 2003 and died in [[Bethesda, Maryland]], in 2011.<ref name="obitguar" />

==Early life and education==
Robert Sargent Shriver Jr. was born in [[Westminster, Maryland]], on November 9, 1915, the younger of two sons. Shriver's parents Robert Sargent Shriver Sr. and Hilda, who had also been born with the surname Shriver, were second cousins.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Shorter|first1=Edward|title=The Kennedy Family and the Story of Mental Retardation|date=2000|publisher=Temple University Press|isbn=1-566-39782-0|page=61}}</ref> His elder brother was Thomas Herbert Shriver. Shriver was a member of the [[Shriver family]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Shriver Family |url=https://unionmills.org/shriver-family/ |access-date=September 16, 2024 |publisher=Union Mills Homestead}}</ref> that has been in Maryland since 1721 and have occupied the [[Union Mills Homestead Historic District|Union Mills Homestead]]. His grandfather, [[Thomas Herbert Shriver]], guided [[J. E. B. Stuart]] to the battle of Gettysburg when Thomas was just seventeen years of age. He was also a descendant of [[David Shriver]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Maryland Constitutional Convention, 1776 |url=https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/speccol/sc2600/sc2685/html/conv1776.html |access-date=September 16, 2024 |publisher=[[Maryland State Archives]]}}</ref> who signed the [[List of delegates to the Maryland Constitutional Convention (1776)|Maryland Constitution and Bill of Rights at Maryland's Constitutional Convention of 1776]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Thomas Herbert Shriver, MSA SC 3520-12824 |url=https://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/speccol/sc3500/sc3520/012800/012824/html/12824bio.html |access-date=September 16, 2024 |publisher=Maryland State Archives}}</ref>

He spent his high school years at [[Canterbury School (Connecticut)|Canterbury School]] in [[New Milford, Connecticut]], which he attended on a full scholarship. In his freshman year at Canterbury, he befriended future brother-in-law President [[John F. Kennedy]]. He was on Canterbury's baseball, basketball, and football teams, became the editor of the school's newspaper, and participated in choral and debating clubs.<ref>{{Cite news | url=http://www.newstimes.com/local/article/R-Sargent-Shriver-built-roots-at-New-Milford-s-1025181.php |title = R. Sargent Shriver built roots at New Milford's Canterbury School| newspaper=News-Times |date = February 22, 2011}}</ref> On June 9, 2023, Shriver was inducted into the Canterbury School Athletic Hall of Fame for all three sports. After graduating from Canterbury School in 1934, Shriver spent the summer in [[Germany]] as part of The [[Experiment in International Living]], returning in the fall of 1934 to enter [[Yale University]], where he was elected chairman of the ''[[Yale Daily News]]''<ref>{{cite web |title=Yale Daily News Historical Archive |url=https://web.library.yale.edu/digital-collections/yale-daily-news-historical-archive |website=Yale Library |access-date=10 February 2025}}</ref> and made a brother in the [[Delta Kappa Epsilon]] fraternity, as well as a member of Yale's [[Scroll and Key]] society.

==Military career==
An early opponent of American involvement in [[World War II]], Shriver was a founding member of the [[America First Committee]], an organization started in 1940 by a group of [[Yale Law School]] students, also including future President [[Gerald Ford]] and future Supreme Court Justice [[Potter Stewart]], which tried to keep the US out of the European war.<ref name="KauffmanSarles2003">{{cite book|last1=Kauffman|first1=Bill|last2=Sarles|first2=Ruth|author-link2=Ruth Sarles|title=A story of America First: the men and women who opposed U.S. intervention in World War II|year=2003|publisher=Praeger|location=New York|isbn=0-275-97512-6|page=xvii}}</ref> Nevertheless, Shriver volunteered for the [[US Navy]] before the [[attack on Pearl Harbor]] and said he had a duty to serve his country even if he disagreed with its policies. He spent five years on active duty, mostly in the [[South Pacific Ocean|South Pacific]], serving aboard the {{USS|South Dakota|BB-57}}, reaching the rank of [[lieutenant (naval)|lieutenant commander]] (O-4). He was awarded a [[Purple Heart]] for wounds he received during the [[Naval Battle of Guadalcanal|bombardment]] of [[Guadalcanal]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Schoifet |first=Mark |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-18/sargent-shriver-kennedy-kin-and-founder-of-u-s-peace-corps-dies-at-95.html |title=Sargent Shriver, Kennedy In-Law, Founder of U.S. Peace Corps, Dies at 95 |publisher=Bloomberg |date= January 19, 2011|access-date=February 22, 2011}}</ref>

==Family life==
Shriver's relationship with the Kennedys began when he was working as an assistant editor at ''[[Newsweek]]'' after his discharge from the Navy. He met Eunice Kennedy at a party in New York, and shortly afterwards, family patriarch [[Joseph P. Kennedy Sr.]] asked him to look at diary entries written by his eldest son, [[Joseph P. Kennedy Jr.]], who had died in a plane crash while he was on a military mission during [[World War II]]. Shriver was later hired to manage the [[Merchandise Mart]], part of Kennedy's business empire, in Chicago, [[Illinois]].<ref name="WashPost-obit">{{cite news| url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/18/AR2011011805116.html| title = Sargent Shriver dies at 95; founded Peace Corps| author = Patricia Sullivan|author2=Emma Brown | date = January 18, 2011| newspaper = [[The Washington Post]]| access-date =January 21, 2014}}</ref>

After a seven-year courtship, Shriver married [[Eunice Kennedy Shriver|Eunice Kennedy]] on May 23, 1953, at [[St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York|St. Patrick's Cathedral]] in New York City. She was the third daughter of Joseph Kennedy Sr. and [[Rose Kennedy]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jfklibrary.org/Historical+Resources/Archives/Archives+and+Manuscripts/Shriver.Sargent/fa_shriver_long.htm |title=R(obert) Sargent Shriver: Papers (#214) – John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum |publisher=Jfklibrary.org |access-date=February 22, 2011 |archive-date=October 20, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071020232431/http://www.jfklibrary.org/Historical+Resources/Archives/Archives+and+Manuscripts/Shriver.Sargent/fa_shriver_long.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

They had five children: [[Bobby Shriver|Robert Sargent "Bobby" Shriver III]] (born April 28, 1954), [[Maria Shriver|Maria Owings Shriver]] (born November 6, 1955), [[Timothy Shriver|Timothy Perry Shriver]] (born August 29, 1959), [[Mark Kennedy Shriver]] (born February 17, 1964), and [[Anthony Shriver|Anthony Paul Kennedy Shriver]] (born July 20, 1965). The Shrivers were married for 56 years, and often worked together on projects.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xt-i-rjJMjwC&q=kiss|title=A Good Man: Rediscovering My Father, Sargent Shriver|last=Shriver|first=Mark|date=2012-06-05|publisher=Henry Holt and Company|isbn=9780805095326|language=en}}</ref>

Shriver was admitted to practice law in the [[District of Columbia]], Illinois, and New York, and at the US Supreme Court.<ref name=ffhsj>{{cite web |url=http://www.ffhsj.com/index.cfm?pageID=42&itemID=580 |title=Sargent Shriver |publisher=Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP |access-date=June 7, 2008}}</ref>

A devout [[Catholic]], Shriver attended daily [[Mass (liturgy)|Mass]] and always carried a [[rosary]] of well-worn wooden beads.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://peacecorpsonline.org/messages/messages/2629/1009097.html |newspaper=National Catholic Reporter |title=Sargent Shriver and the politics of life |date=August 30, 2002}}</ref> He was critical of [[abortion in the United States|abortion]] and was a signatory to "A New Compact of Care: Caring about Women, Caring for the Unborn", which appeared in ''[[The New York Times]]'' in July 1992 and stated that "To establish justice and to promote the general welfare, America does not need the abortion license. What America needs are policies that responsibly protect and advance the interest of mothers and their children, both before and after birth."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.catholic.org/politics/story.php?id=40015 |publisher=Catholic Online |title=Pro-Life Liberal Sargent Shriver Dies |date=January 19, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110124045218/http://www.catholic.org/politics/story.php?id=40015 |archive-date=January 24, 2011 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

==Public service and political career==

===1950s===
In May 1954, Shriver was appointed to the [[Chicago Board of Education]] by Chicago mayor [[Martin H. Kennelly]].<ref name="ChiTrib27Oct1955"/> On October 26, 1955, Shriver was chosen to serve as president of the Chicago Board of Education by a vote of the board.<ref name="ChiTrib27Oct1955">{{cite web |title=SARGENT S. SHRIVER, 39, HEADS SCHOOL BOARD |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/371293047 |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=August 1, 2021 |url-access=subscription |date=October 27, 1955}}</ref> Shriver would serve in the position of president for five years,<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-sargent-shriver-20110119,0,3549392.story|title=R. Sargent Shriver dies at 95; 'unmatched' public servant and Kennedy in-law|last=Mehren|first=Elizabeth|date=January 18, 2011|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=January 18, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=When Sargent Shriver Ran for Vice-President |url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,906202,00.html |magazine=Time |access-date=July 31, 2021 |date=August 14, 1972}}</ref> resigning from the position on October 10, 1960.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Franke |first1=Jeanne |title=New School Board President Details Goal for Chicago Education |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/374779583 |via=Newspapers.com |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |access-date=August 1, 2021 |url-access=subscription |date=October 23, 1960}}</ref> At the time he became president of the board, he was the second-youngest individual to hold that office, being only 39.<ref name="winnona">{{cite news |title=Young Man Heads Chicago School Board |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/414272776 |via=Newspapers.com |newspaper=The Winona Daily News |agency=Associated Press |access-date=1 August 2021 |url-access=subscription |date=October 27, 1955}}</ref> At the time, [[Chicago Public Schools]] was the second-largest [[school district]] in the United States.<ref name="winnona"/>

Shriver also served as director of the Catholic Interracial Council, a group created to advocate for [[desegregation]] in Chicago schools.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Whitesides |first1=John |title=Sargent Shriver, former VP nominee, dies |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-shriver-idUSTRE70I6ZO20110119 |publisher=Reuters |access-date=July 31, 2021 |date=January 19, 2011}}</ref>

Shriver considered several runs for statewide office. His first consideration was for the Democratic nomination in the [[1956 Illinois gubernatorial election]]. Shriver had been courted by many Chicago Democrats, including Mayor [[Richard J. Daley]], but ultimately chose to stay out of the election.<ref name="Stossel, 2004">Stossel, 2004.</ref> The primary was won by Cook County treasurer Herbert C. Paschen, who would be forced to withdraw as the nominee after becoming embroiled in scandals surrounding his work as Treasurer. District Court Judge [[Richard B. Austin]], was chosen as the replacement and went on to narrowly lose the election to incumbent Governor [[William Stratton]].

===1960s===
[[File:Sargent Shriver-JFK.jpg|thumb|left|Shriver and JFK at the White House in August 1961.]]
In 1960, Shriver once again received serious courting by Democratic leaders in both Chicago and across the state to enter the Democratic primary for the [[1960 Illinois gubernatorial election]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hayes |first1=Charles |title=Rough-and-Tumble Election |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/72063675 |website=Newspapers.com |publisher=Arlington Heights Herald |access-date=1 August 2021 |language=en |date=7 Jan 1960}}</ref><ref name="Stossel, 2004"/> Shriver even met with Mayor Daley and the Cook County Democratic Committee to gauge a possible run at Daley's urging. However his father-in-law, [[Joseph P. Kennedy]], told Shriver he would not be able to run or else he could seriously cripple the Presidential campaign of his brother-in-law, [[John F. Kennedy]]. His father-in-law cited the oversaturation of Catholic candidates in Illinois could cost the Democrats the state in November (Kennedy, Shriver, and Daley were all Catholic).<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/19/us/politics/19shriver.html | title=R. Sargent Shriver, Peace Corps Leader, Dies at 95 | work=The New York Times | date=January 18, 2011 | last1=McFadden | first1=Robert D. }}</ref><ref name="Stossel, 2004"/>

When [[John F. Kennedy]] ran for president, Shriver worked as a political and organization coordinator in the Wisconsin and West Virginia primaries. During Kennedy's presidential term, Shriver founded and served as the first director of the [[Peace Corps]] from March 22, 1961, to February 28, 1966.<ref name="NYT-obit" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=learn.whatispc.history.pastdir&btn=1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031226082426/http://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=learn.whatispc.history.pastdir&btn=1 |archive-date=December 26, 2003 |title=About the Peace Corps : Past Directors |access-date=7 May 2015}}</ref>

Shriver has been credited with convincing a hesitant Kennedy to contact [[Coretta Scott King]] after her husband, prominent civil rights activist [[Martin Luther King]], was jailed for civil disobedience in [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] in October 1960. Kennedy's phone call to Coretta Scott King was credited with helping to strengthen [[Black people|black]] support for Kennedy's candidacy.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Mehren |first1=Elizabeth |title=R. Sargent Shriver, 1915-2011 |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/ct-xpm-2011-01-18-ct-met-shriver-obit-0119-20110118-story.html |website=chicagotribune.com |access-date=31 July 2021 |date=18 January 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=How Kennedy Won the Black Vote : A Call to Coretta King Brought Groundswell of Support |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-12-15-vw-329-story.html |website=Los Angeles Times |access-date=31 July 2021 |date=15 December 1988}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Levingston |first1=Steven |title=JFK, MLK and the Phone Call That Changed History |url=https://time.com/4817240/martin-luther-king-john-kennedy-phone-call/ |magazine=Time |access-date=31 July 2021 |language=en |date=20 June 2017 |archive-date=November 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109043524/https://time.com/4817240/martin-luther-king-john-kennedy-phone-call/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

After [[Assassination of John F. Kennedy|Kennedy's assassination]], Shriver continued to serve as Director of the Peace Corps and served as Special Assistant to President [[Lyndon B. Johnson|Lyndon Johnson]]. Under Johnson, he created the [[Office of Economic Opportunity]] and served as its first director.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE2D81630F935A25756C0A966958260 | work=The New York Times | title=W. B. Mullins, 52, A Founding Official Of the Peace Corps | date=May 16, 1990 | access-date=May 23, 2010}}</ref> He is known as the "architect" of the Johnson administration's "[[War on Poverty]]".<ref name="NYT-obit" /> Hired by President Johnson to be the "salesman" for Johnson's [[War on Poverty]] initiative, Shriver initially was "not interested in hearing about community action proposals." The [[Job Corps]] movement was more consistent with his goals. Thus, soon after his appointment, Shriver "moved quickly to reconsider the proposed anti-poverty initiative."<ref>Vinovskis, M. A. (2008) Birth of Head Start: Preschool education policies in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. pp. 42-43</ref>

Shriver founded numerous social programs and organizations, including [[Head Start Program|Head Start]],<ref name="HShistory">{{cite web|url=http://www.paheadstart.org/UserFiles/File/General_History.pdf|title=Head Start History: 1965–Present|publisher=Pennsylvania Head Start Association|access-date=January 21, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110515203448/http://www.paheadstart.org/UserFiles/File/General_History.pdf|archive-date=May 15, 2011|df=mdy-all}}</ref> [[Volunteers in Service to America|VISTA]], [[Job Corps]], Community Action, [[Upward Bound]], Foster Grandparents, Legal Services, the National Clearinghouse for Legal Services (now the Shriver Center), Indian and Migrant Opportunities and Neighborhood Health Services, in addition to directing the Peace Corps. He was active in the [[Special Olympics]], which was founded in 1968 by his wife Eunice.

Shriver was awarded the [[Pacem in Terris Award|Pacem in Terris Peace and Freedom Award]] in 1967. It was named after a 1963 [[encyclical]] letter by [[Pope John XXIII]] that calls upon all people of good will to secure peace among all nations. ''[[Pacem in terris]]'' is [[Latin]] for 'Peace on Earth'.

In 1964 Shriver was considered one of the primary finalists on Johnson's shortlist to be vice president. After weighing the benefits of Shriver as the second spot on the ticket, Johnson ultimately chose [[Hubert Humphrey]]. Shriver again considered running for Governor of Illinois in the [[1964 Illinois gubernatorial election]].<ref name="Stossel, 2004"/> However, he demurred after being asked by President Johnson to stay on and continue leading the creation of many of the aforementioned War on Poverty programs that would become part of the [[Great Society]].<ref name="Stossel, 2004"/>

In 1968, Shriver was once again seriously courted by Illinois Democrats for both the [[1968 Illinois gubernatorial election]] against increasingly unpopular incumbent Governor [[Otto Kerner, Jr.]] and the [[1968 United States Senate election in Illinois]] against incumbent Republican [[Everett Dirksen]]. Shriver expressed little interest in serving in the Senate, not wanting to be overshadowed by his brothers-in-law [[Ted Kennedy]] and specifically [[Robert Kennedy]], who he had expected to run for president in 1972. To move Shriver toward a run, Daley pitched to Illinois Democratic leaders and Shriver on recruiting [[Illinois State Treasurer]] [[Adlai E. Stevenson III]] to run for the Senate seat with Shriver running for Governor. Shriver even received Johnson's blessing to make the run as part of Daley's "Dream Ticket", should he choose to do so. However, when Stevenson spoke out against the Vietnam War, Daley rejected Stevenson's candidacy and again tried to recruit Shriver for the Senate seat. Johnson had offered Shriver the post of [[U.S. Ambassador to France]], but asked for time to consider the offer, during which he considered his potential candidacy. When Stevenson lost Daley's support for the Senate seat and began trying to recruit Shriver again, Shriver decided to accept Johnson's offer of the Ambassadorship.<ref name="Stossel, 2004"/>

Shriver served as [[U.S. Ambassador to France]] from 1968 to 1970, becoming a quasi-celebrity among the French for bringing what ''[[Time magazine|Time]]'' magazine called "a rare and welcome panache" to the normally sedate world of international diplomacy.<ref name="time68">{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,839591,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101029075100/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,839591,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 29, 2010 |title=Diplomacy: The Liveliest Ambassador|date=November 1, 1968|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]| access-date=January 18, 2011}}</ref> Upon returning to the United States in 1970, Shriver was speculated to be considering challenging incumbent Democratic Governor [[Marvin Mandel]] for the Democratic nomination for the [[1970 Maryland gubernatorial election]], reports he did nothing to dissuade despite Mandel's sizable campaign fund and being the state's first Jewish Governor. Mandel had been elected by the Maryland Legislature to finish out the term [[Spiro Agnew]] had been elected to in 1966, but resigned from after being elected [[Vice President]] in 1968. After traveling the state to gauge the support a potential candidacy might have, Shriver met with Mandel in the Governor's office. After emerging from the meeting, Shriver declined to be a candidate. Mandel recalled years later, "We had a long discussion, and when it was over, he wasn't a candidate."<ref>[https://archive.today/20240621020339/https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/if-sargent-shriver-had-run-for-governor-of-maryland-/2011/01/22/ABLyxuD_story.html Unknown]</ref>

===Vice Presidential candidacy===
{{main|United States presidential election, 1972}}

During the [[1972 Democratic National Convention]] in [[Miami Beach]], Florida, [[George McGovern]] considered Shriver as a vice presidential candidate, but his campaign was unable to reach Shriver, who was at the time visiting [[Moscow]], [[Soviet Union]].<ref>{{cite news
 | url =http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/01/18/sargent-shrivers-america-friends-and-family-remember-a-new-frontier-hero.html
 | title = Sargent Shriver's America
 | last = Clymer
 | first = Adam
 | date = January 18, 2011
 | newspaper = The Daily Beast
 | access-date = March 21, 2016
 | quote = In fact, McGovern said this week, he probably would have chosen instead of the ill-starred Eagleton at the Miami Beach convention, but Shriver was traveling in Russia and could not be reached by phone to be offered the nomination.}}</ref> McGovern then selected [[Thomas Eagleton]] instead, who later resigned from the Democratic ticket following revelations of past mental health treatments. Shriver replaced Eagleton on the ticket. The McGovern-Shriver ticket lost to Republican incumbents [[Richard Nixon]] and [[Spiro Agnew]].

===Presidential candidacy===
{{main|1976 Democratic Party presidential primaries}}

Shriver unsuccessfully sought the Democratic presidential nomination in [[1976 United States presidential election|1976]]. In the months before [[Democratic Party presidential primaries, 1976|the primaries]] began, political observers thought that Shriver would draw strength from legions of former colleagues from the Peace Corps and the War on Poverty programs, and he was even seen as an inheritor of the Kennedy legacy, but neither theory proved true.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Koster |first=R. M. |author-link=R. M. Koster |date=February 1976 |title=The Democratic Super Bowl |magazine=[[Harper's Magazine|Harper's]] |publisher=Harper's Foundation |volume=252 |issue=1509 |pages=14–17 |url=https://harpers.org/archive/1976/02/the-democratic-super-bowl/ |access-date=November 18, 2018 }}{{subscription required}}</ref> His candidacy was short-lived and he returned to private life.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jfklibrary.org/JFK+Library+and+Museum/News+and+Press/JFK+Presidential+Library+Opens+Sargent+Shriver+Collection.htm |title=JFK Presidential Library Opens Sargent Shriver Collection |publisher=John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum |access-date=June 7, 2008 |date=February 1, 2005 |archive-date=October 20, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071020143913/http://www.jfklibrary.org/JFK+Library+and+Museum/News+and+Press/JFK+Presidential+Library+Opens+Sargent+Shriver+Collection.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Life after politics==
[[File:Eunice_Kennedy_Shriver_and_Sargent_Shriver.jpg|thumb|Shriver and wife, Eunice, in 1999]]
Shriver was a partner of the [[Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson]] law firm in Washington, D.C., where he specialized in international law and foreign affairs, beginning in 1971.<ref name=ffhsj/> He retired as partner in 1986 and was then named [[of counsel]] to the firm.{{citation needed|date=July 2011}}

In 1981, Shriver was appointed to the Rockefeller University Council, an organization devoted exclusively to research and graduate education in the biomedical and related sciences.

In 1984, he was elected president of [[Special Olympics]] by the board of directors; as president, he directed the operation and international development of sports programs around the world. Six years later, in 1990, he was appointed chairman of the board of Special Olympics.

He was an investor in the [[Baltimore Orioles]] along with his eldest son [[Bobby Shriver]], [[Eli Jacobs]], and [[Larry Lucchino]] from 1989<ref>Hyman, Mark S. "Orioles are sold: $70 million; Buyers say team will stay," ''[[The Baltimore Sun]]'', December 7, 1988</ref> to 1993.

==Illness and death==
Shriver was diagnosed with [[Alzheimer's disease]] in 2003. In 2004, his daughter, [[Maria Shriver|Maria]], published a children's book, ''What's Happening to Grandpa?'', to help explain Alzheimer's to children. The book gives suggestions on how to help and to show love to an elderly person with the disease.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Shriver|first1=Maria|author-link1=Maria Shriver|title=What's Happening to Grandpa?|isbn=978-0-316-00101-4|publisher=Little, Brown Young Readers|date=April 28, 2004|url=https://archive.org/details/whatshappeningto00shri}}</ref> In July 2007, Shriver's son-in-law, California Governor [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]], speaking in favor of [[stem-cell research]], said that Shriver's Alzheimer's disease had advanced to the point that "Today, he does not even recognize his wife."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.thestar.com/news/2007/05/31/terminator_gunning_to_save_lives.html |title=Terminator gunning to save lives; California governor, McGuinty sign stem-cell research deal in bid to 'cure a lot' of illnesses |work=[[Toronto Star]] |access-date=June 7, 2008 |date=May 31, 2007 |author1=Benzie, Robert |author2=Ferguson, Rob }}</ref> Maria Shriver discusses her father's worsening condition in a segment for the four-part 2009 [[HBO]] documentary series ''The Alzheimer's Project'' called ''Grandpa, Do You Know Who I Am?'', including describing a moment when she decided to stop trying to correct his various delusions.<ref>HBO Documentary, The Alzheimer's Project, 2009, [http://www.hbo.com/alzheimers/grandpa-do-you-know-who-i-am.html ''Grandpa, Do You Know Who I Am?''] with Maria Shriver.</ref>

On August 11, 2009, Shriver's wife of 56 years, Eunice, died at the age of 88.<ref name=":0" /> He attended her wake and funeral in [[Centerville, Massachusetts|Centerville]] and [[Hyannis, Massachusetts]].<ref name="Eunice-funeral">{{cite news| url=http://www2.turnto10.com/news/2009/aug/14/biden_among_invitees_to_eunice_kennedy_shriver_fun-ar-53547/|title=Special Olympians, family celebrate Eunice Kennedy Shriver|date=August 13, 2009| publisher=Associated Press via turnto10.com|access-date=January 20, 2011}}</ref> Two weeks later, on August 29, 2009, he attended the funeral of her brother [[Ted Kennedy]] in Boston, Massachusetts.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nwitimes.com/entertainment/columnists/offbeat/article_ace6e7f3-36dc-5e9e-85e8-31b27ad22ada.html|title=OFFBEAT: Sen. Ted Kennedy's funeral unites family with words of inspiration|last=Potempa|first=Philip|date=September 1, 2009|work=Times of Northwest Indiana|access-date=January 20, 2011}}</ref>

Shriver died on January 18, 2011, in [[Suburban Hospital]] in [[Bethesda, Maryland]], at age 95.<ref name="NYT-obit">{{cite news| url = https://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/19/us/politics/19shriver.html
| title = R. Sargent Shriver, Peace Corps Leader, Dies at 95| last = McFadden | first = Robert D.| author-link = Robert D. McFadden   |date = January 18, 2011| work = The New York Times| access-date =January 18, 2011}}</ref><ref name="WashPost-obit" /><ref name="ABC-death">{{cite news|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/sargent-shriver-dies-peace-corps-founder-vp-candidate/story?id=12627926|title=Sargent Shriver Dies: Peace Corps Founder, VP Candidate |last=McGuire|first=Bill|date=January 18, 2011|work=ABC News|access-date=January 18, 2011}}</ref> Shriver's family released a statement calling him "a man of giant love, energy, enthusiasm, and commitment" who "lived to make the world a more joyful, faithful, and compassionate place."<ref name="ABC-death"/> President [[Barack Obama]] also released a statement, calling Shriver "one of the brightest lights of the greatest generation".<ref name="ABC-death"/> Aaron S. Williams, the director of the Peace Corps, said in a statement, "The entire Peace Corps community is deeply saddened by the passing of Sargent Shriver." He further noted that Shriver "served as our founder, friend, and guiding light for the past 50 years" and that "his legacy of idealism will live on in the work of current and future Peace Corps volunteers."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.media.press.view&news_id=1693|title=Peace Corps Mourns the Loss of Founder and Visionary Father, Sargent Shriver|date=January 18, 2011|work=News Releases & Statements|publisher=[[Peace Corps]]|access-date=January 19, 2011}}</ref> He is buried alongside his wife Eunice at St. Francis Xavier Cemetery in [[Centerville, Massachusetts]].

==Legacy==
In 1968, he was awarded the [[Laetare Medal]] by the [[University of Notre Dame]], the oldest and most prestigious award for [[American Catholics]].<ref>{{cite web |publisher= University of Notre Dame |title=Recipients {{!}} The Laetare Medal |url=https://laetare.nd.edu/recipients/#info1968 |access-date=2 August 2020 |language=en}}</ref>

In 1993, Shriver received the [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] [[Four Freedoms Award|Freedom From Want Award]]. On August 8, 1994, Shriver received the [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]], the United States' highest civilian honor, from President [[Bill Clinton]].

In December 1993, the [[University of Maryland, Baltimore County]] created the Shriver Center in honor of Shriver and his wife. The center serves as the university's civic engagement, and applied learning organization. The Shriver Center also is home to the Shriver Peaceworker Program and the Shriver Living Learning Community.<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://shrivercenter.umbc.edu/history/ |title = History - Shriver Center - UMBC}}</ref>

The Job Corps dedicated a center to his name in 1998 – the "Shriver Job Corps Center" – located in [[Devens, Massachusetts]].<ref name="RSS timeline">{{cite web| url=http://learningtogive.org/papers/paper274.html |title=Shriver, Robert Sargent (Informational Paper)|last=Schada|first=Emilie|date=Fall 2005|publisher=Learning to Give|access-date=January 18, 2011}}</ref> The National Clearinghouse for Legal Services (renamed the National Center on Poverty Law in 1995) was renamed the Shriver Center in 2002 and each year awards a Sargent Shriver Award for Equal Justice.<ref name="SSNCPL">{{cite web|url=http://www.povertylaw.org/about-us/sargent-shriver-our-founder|title=Our Founder, Sargent Shriver|publisher=SHRIVER CENTER: Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law|access-date=January 19, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060516193528/http://www.povertylaw.org/about-us/sargent-shriver-our-founder|archive-date=May 16, 2006|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

Sargent Shriver Elementary School, located in [[Silver Spring, Maryland]], is named after him.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gazette.net/stories/091306/takonew203021_31953.shtml |title=New school year, new elementary school |publisher=Gazette.net |date=September 13, 2006 |access-date=February 22, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/shriveres/aboutus/biography.aspx |title=Who is Sargent Shriver? |publisher=Montgomeryschoolsmd.org |date=January 24, 2011 |access-date=February 22, 2011}}</ref>

In January 2008, a documentary film about Shriver aired on [[PBS]], titled ''American Idealist: The Story of Sargent Shriver''.<ref name="NYT-obit"/>

The Kennedy Shriver Aquatic Center in [[Bethesda, Maryland]], is named after him and [[Eunice Kennedy Shriver]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/rec/facilities/aquaticcenters/kennedyshriver.html|title = Kennedy Shriver Aquatic Center - Department of Recreation - Montgomery County, Maryland}}</ref>

Following his death, Daniel Larison wrote:
<blockquote>Shriver was an admirable, principled, and conscientious man who respected the dignity and sanctity of human life, and he also happened to be a contemporary and in-law of Kennedy. Not only did Shriver represent a "link" with JFK, but he represented a particular culture of white ethnic Catholic Democratic politics that has been gradually disappearing for the last fifty years. A pro-life Catholic, Shriver had been a founding member of the [[America First Committee]], and more famously he was also on the 1972 antiwar ticket with George McGovern. In short, he represented much of what was good in the Democratic Party of his time.<ref>Larison, Daniel [http://www.amconmag.com/larison/2011/01/24/shriver-and-lieberman/ Shriver and Lieberman], ''[[The American Conservative]]''</ref>
</blockquote>

==Electoral history==
'''[[1972 United States presidential election]]'''
*[[Richard Nixon]]/[[Spiro Agnew]] (R) (inc.) – 47,168,710 (60.7%) and 520 electoral votes (49 states carried)
*[[George McGovern]]/'''Sargent Shriver''' (D) – 29,173,222 (37.5%) and 17 electoral votes (1 state and D.C. carried)
*[[John Hospers]]/[[Theodora Nathan]] (Libertarian) – 3,674 (0.00%) and 1 electoral vote (Republican [[faithless elector]])
*[[John G. Schmitz]]/[[Thomas J. Anderson (author)|Thomas J. Anderson]] (AI) – 1,100,868 (1.4%) and 0 electoral votes
*[[Linda Jenness]]/[[Andrew Pulley]] (Socialist Workers) – 83,380 (0.1%)
*[[Benjamin Spock]]/[[Julius Hobson]] (People's) – 78,759 (0.1%)

'''[[1976 United States presidential election|1976 Democratic presidential primaries]]'''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=55206 |title=US President – D Primaries Race – Feb 01, 1976 |publisher=Our Campaigns |access-date=February 22, 2011}}</ref>
*[[Jimmy Carter]] – 6,235,609 (39.27%)
*[[Jerry Brown]] – 2,449,374 (15.43%)
*[[George Wallace]] – 1,955,388 (12.31%)
*[[Mo Udall]] – 1,611,754 (10.15%)
*[[Henry M. Jackson]] – 1,134,375 (7.14%)
*[[Frank Church]] – 830,818 (5.23%)
*[[Robert Byrd]] – 340,309 (2.14%)
*'''Sargent Shriver''' – 304,399 (1.92%)
* Unpledged – 283,437 (1.79%)
*[[Ellen McCormack]] – 238,027 (1.50%)
*[[Fred R. Harris]] – 234,568 (1.48%)
*[[Milton Shapp]] – 88,254 (0.56%)
*[[Birch Bayh]] – 86,438 (0.54%)
*[[Hubert Humphrey]] – 61,992 (0.39%)
*[[Ted Kennedy]] – 19,805 (0.13%)
*[[Lloyd Bentsen]] – 4,046 (0.03%)
*[[Terry Sanford]] – 404 (0.00%)

==Portrayals in film==
{{unsourced section|date=January 2025}}
* The film ''[[Too Young the Hero]]'' (1988), about the life of [[Calvin Graham]], features a scene during World War II in which Graham (played by [[Ricky Schroder]]) meets Shriver (played by Carl Mueller).
* [[Al Conti]] portrays Shriver in the 1983 miniseries ''[[Kennedy (1983 miniseries)|Kennedy]]''.
* He is played by David De Beck in the 2018 film ''[[Chappaquiddick (film)|Chappaquiddick]]''.

==See also==
*[[Shriver family]]
*[[Kennedy family]]
*[[List of United States political appointments across party lines]]

==References==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

== Further reading ==
*{{cite book|last=Stossel|first=Scott|title=Sarge: The life and times of Sargent Shriver|year=2004|publisher=Smithsonian Books|location=Washington, D.C.|isbn=978-1-58834-127-3|author-link=Scott Stossel|url=https://archive.org/details/sargelifetimesof00stos}}
*{{cite book|last=Shriver|first=Mark|title=A Good Man: Rediscovering My Father, Sargent Shriver|year=2012|publisher=Henry Holt & Co|isbn=978-0805095302|author-link=Mark Kennedy Shriver|url=https://archive.org/details/goodmanrediscove00shri}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Sargent Shriver}}
*[http://www.sargentshriver.org/ Sargent Shriver Peace Institute]
*{{C-SPAN|6189}}
*[http://vault.fbi.gov/robert-sargent-shriver-jr FBI file on Sargent Shriver]
*[http://www.povertylaw.org/ Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law]
*[http://www.criticalpast.com/video/65675049009_Robert-Sargent-Shriver_giving-a-speech_community-development_Communism Video: Sargent Shriver delivering a speech about the Peace Corps in 1965]
*{{Find a Grave|64372161}}

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{{Unsuccessful major party VPOTUS candidates}}
{{USDemVicePresNominees}}
{{United States presidential election, 1972}}
{{United States presidential election, 1976}}
{{PeaceCorpsDirectors}}
{{Office of Economic Opportunity Directors}}
{{US Ambassadors to France}}
{{Kennedy family}}
{{Special Olympics}}
{{Presidents of the Chicago Board of Education|state=collapsed}}
{{Pacem in Terris Award laureates}}
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