Gaylord Nelson
Founder, Earth Day
National Press Club Luncheon Speaker -- April 22, 2003

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 Hear an interview between Morning Edition host Bob Edwards and Gaylord Nelson. April 21, 2000.

Gaylord Nelson is regarded as the founder of the modern environmental movement. A former United States senator and governor of Wisconsin, Nelson played a main role in establishing Earth Day in 1970 and made environmental protection a major national issue.

Born on June 4, 1916, Nelson was raised in Wisconsin and attended college in California. After serving four years in Japan with the U.S. Army during WWII, he returned to Madison, Wis., in 1946 to begin his law career. Two years later, he was elected to the Wisconsin senate, serving consecutive terms until 1959, when he was elected governor of Wisconsin. In 1962 he was elected to the U.S. Senate, where he served until 1981.

Sen. Nelson helped pass legislation preserving the 2,000-mile Appalachian Trail, mandating fuel efficiency standards in automobiles and banning the pesticide DDT and the defoliant Agent Orange. Nelson also co-sponsored the National Environmental Education Act and wrote legislation to create the the Upper Great Lakes Regional Commission. Operation Mainstream/Green Thumb, another Nelson project, employed the elderly in conservation projects.

He is the recipient of numerous awards, including two from the United Nations Environment Programme. In 1995, Nelson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian award, for his lifelong work on behalf of the environment.

Since leaving the Senate in 1981, Nelson has served as counselor to the Wilderness Society, focusing his efforts on protecting America's public lands and traveling across the nation to promote environmental awareness and protection. He remains actively involved in Earth Day affairs and served as chairman of Earth Day 1995. He also founded the Earth Day Network's Earth Day 2000 Clean Energy Now! campaign.

Nelson received his bachelor's degree in 1939 from San Jose State College in California and a law degree from the University of Wisconsin in 1942. He is a father of three and lives with his wife, Carrie Lee, in Kensington, Md.

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