  robert sargent "sarge" shriver, jr. (; november 9, 1915 â january 18, 2011) was an american statesman and activist. as the husband of eunice kennedy shriver, he was part of the kennedy family, serving in the kennedy and johnson administrations. shriver was the driving force behind the creation of the peace corps, founded the job corps, head start and other programs as the "architect" of johnson's "war on poverty" and served as the united states ambassador to france. during the [[united states 
1915_births 2011_deaths 20th-century_lawyers Ambassadors_of_the_United_States_to_France American_Roman_Catholics American_humanitarians American_military_personnel_of_World_War_II American_nonprofit_businesspeople American_nonprofit_executives American_people_of_German_descent Democratic_Party_(United_States)_vice_presidential_nominees Disability_rights_activists_from_the_United_States Illinois_Democrats Illinois_lawyers Kennedy_family Laetare_Medal_recipients Major_League_Baseball_owners Maryland_Democrats Maryland_lawyers New_York_Democrats New_York_lawyers Peace_Corps_directors People_from_Westminster,_Maryland Presidential_Medal_of_Freedom_recipients Recipients_of_the_Purple_Heart_medal Shriver_family Special_Olympics United_States_Navy_officers United_States_presidential_candidates,_1976 United_States_vice-presidential_candidates,_1972 Washington,_D.C._Democrats Washington,_D.C._lawyers Yale_Law_School_alumni Yale_University_alumni