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.

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 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 founded many social programs and organizations, including Head Start, 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.

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, two weeks later his brother-in-law Ted Kennedy died on August 25, 2009 from brain cancer.

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.

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.

References

Other websites

"American Idealist: The Story of Sargent Shriver" , PBS
Ancestor David Shriver 
FBI file on Sargent Shriver
Life With Sargent Shriver  - slideshow by Life
Sargent Shriver
Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law
The Shriver Center 
Video: Sargent Shriver delivering a speech about the Peace Corps in 1965

Category:1915 births
Category:2011 deaths
Category:Deaths from Alzheimer's disease
Category:1976 United States presidential candidates
Category:Politicians from Maryland
Category:Writers from Maryland
Category:American activists
Category:Democratic Party (United States) politicians
Category:Purple Heart recipients