KidzSearch Wiki

Sargent Shriver

Robert Sargent Shriver, Jr. (November 9, 1915 – January 18, 2011) was an American politician who was the first director of the Peace Corps from 1961 until 1966, then he was the first director of the OEO from 1964 until 1968, and was the 21st ambassador to France from 1968 until 1970.

Sargent Shriver
Sargent Shriver 1961.jpg
Shriver in 1961
21st United States Ambassador to France
In office
April 22, 1968 – March 25, 1970
Nominated byLyndon B. Johnson
Preceded byCharles E. Bohlen
Succeeded byArthur K. Watson
1st Director of the OEO
In office
October 17, 1964[1] – March 22, 1968[1]
PresidentLyndon B. Johnson
Preceded byOffice Created
Succeeded byBertrand Harding
1st Director of the Peace Corps
In office
March 22, 1961 – February 28, 1966[2]
PresidentJohn F. Kennedy
Lyndon B. Johnson
Preceded byOffice Created
Succeeded byJack Vaughn
Personal details
Born
Robert Sargent Shriver, Jr.

(1915-11-09)November 9, 1915
Westminster, Maryland, U.S.
DiedJanuary 18, 2011(2011-01-18) (aged 95)
Bethesda, Maryland, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)Eunice Kennedy Shriver (m. 1953–2009, her death)
RelationsArnold Schwarzenegger (son-in-law)
ChildrenRobert Sargent Shriver III
Maria Owings Shriver
Timothy Perry Shriver
Mark Kennedy Shriver
Anthony Paul Kennedy Shriver
ParentsRobert Sargent Shriver, Sr. and Hilda Shriver
Alma materYale University
Yale Law School
ProfessionAttorney
AwardsWorld War II Victory Medal, Purple Heart, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal[3]
Signature
Military service
AllegianceUnited States of America
Branch/serviceUnited States Navy
Years of service1941–1945
RankLieutenant
Battles/warsWorld War II

He was also a Vice President nominee with presidential nominee George McGovern in 1972, they lost to Richard Nixon and to Spiro Agnew. He was also an activist.

Early life

Shriver was born in Westminster, Maryland on November 9, 1915[4] and was educated at Yale University and at Yale Law School. He had served in the army during World War II from 1941 through 1945 and was awarded a Purple Heart for his wounds during the war.

Career

 
Shriver meeting with President Lyndon B. Johnson at the Oval Office, 1964

Shriver founded many social programs and organizations, including Head Start,[5] 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 Special Olympics, founded by his wife Eunice.

Shriver was awarded the 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'.

Shriver served as U.S. Ambassador to France from 1968 to 1970, becoming a quasi-celebrity among the French for bringing what Time magazine called "a rare and welcome panache" to the normally sedate world of international diplomacy.[6]

Personal life

In 1953 Shriver married Eunice Kennedy (the sister of John F. Kennedy) and together they had 5 children; Robert Sargent Shriver III, Maria Shriver (the wife of Arnold Schwarzenegger), Timothy Peter Shriver, Mark Kennedy Shriver, and Anthony Paul Kennedy Shriver. Shriver's wife of 56 years Eunice Kennedy Shriver died on August 11, 2009 from a stroke,[7] two weeks later his brother-in-law Ted Kennedy died on August 25, 2009 from brain cancer.[8]

Health and death

In 2003 Shriver was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and has began to loose his memory and could not even name his own wife because of the disease. His daughter Maria Shriver wrote a children's book based on the disease.[9]

On January 18, 2011 Sargent Shriver died in Bethesda, Maryland from Alzheimer's disease, he was 95 years old. He is buried next to his wife at the St. Francis Xavier Cemetery.[10]

Sargent Shriver Media

  • Shriver and JFK at the White House in August 1961.

  • Shriver and wife, Eunice, in 1999

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 capsolano.org/cap_general_info/caa_history.pdf
  2. ↑ Past Directors Archived 2010-05-27 at the Wayback Machine.
  3. ↑ Herbert, Bob (April 23, 2004). "A Muscular Idealism". The New York Times. https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B03E5D9143AF930A15757C0A9629C8B63. Retrieved December 5, 2008. 
  4. ↑ "The New Nominee No Longer Half a Kennedy". Time. August 14, 1972. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,906202-1,00.html. Retrieved September 27, 2008. 
  5. ↑ "Head Start History: 1965-Present" (PDF). Pennsylvania Head Start Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 15, 2011. Retrieved January 21, 2011.
  6. ↑ "Diplomacy: The Liveliest Ambassador". Time. November 1, 1968. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,839591,00.html. Retrieved January 18, 2011. 
  7. ↑ Grinberg, Emanuella (n.d.). Eunice Kennedy Shriver dies. Edition.cnn.com. http://edition.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/08/11/eunice.kennedy.shriver/. Retrieved August 11, 2009. 
  8. ↑ Ted Kennedy Dies of Brain Cancer at Age 77. ABC News. August 26, 2009. http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/TedKennedy/story?id=6692022. Retrieved August 26, 2009. 
  9. ↑ Shriver, Maria (April 28, 2004). What's Happening to Grandpa?. Little, Brown Young Readers. ISBN 978-0-316-00101-4.
  10. ↑ McFadden, Robert D. (January 18, 2011). "R. Sargent Shriver, Peace Corps Leader, Dies at 95". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/19/us/politics/19shriver.html. Retrieved January 18, 2011. 

Other websites

  Media related to Sargent Shriver at Wikimedia Commons

Retrieved from "https://wiki.kidzsearch.com/w/index.php?title=Sargent_Shriver&oldid=5658797"