Gaylord Nelson ?42, former U.S. senator and governor of Wisconsin, one of the leading environmentalists of the last century, died Sunday, July 3 at the age of 89.

Nelson was known as the founder of Earth Day, which he organized in 1970 to call attention to environmental issues facing the nation.  Twenty million Americans participated in that first event.  Earth Day has now grown into an international event,  celebrated on April 22 annually in approximately 174 countries.

In the Senate, Nelson sponsored or helped to pass dozens of environmental laws to conserve natural resources and prevent pollution, including the Wilderness Act.  As a two-term governor of Wisconsin, he won passage of the state's landmark program to acquire and preserve open space and recreational land.

In 1995, President Clinton awarded Nelson the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor. 

Nelson was a member of a panel of Wisconsin governors who jointly presented the Law School's Fairchild Lecture in 2002.  He was presented with the Law School's Distinguished Service Award in 1999.

Obituaries and tributes to Nelson appear in the Capital Times and Wisconsin State Journal of July 4 and 5, and in the New York Times of July 4, 2005.

Submitted by on July 5, 2005

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