Ralph Nader
(1934-)

American Consumer Advocate, Politician

birthdate: February 27
birthplace: Winsted, Connecticut

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The child of Lebanese immigrants who ran a neighborhood bakery in Connecticut, Ralph Nader rose from humble beginnings to attend Princeton University and graduate with honors. During later studies at Harvard Law School, he began to research automobile design. It became clear to him through this research that the great American automobile industry was making its cars primarily for style and depreciation, not for safety or fuel efficiency. His article "The Safe Car You Can't Buy" appeared in The Nation in 1959 and Nader soon became known as America's number one consumer advocate. His book Unsafe At Any Speed became largely responsible for Congress passing the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act in 1966. And the passage of 1967's Wholesome Meats Act, as well as later, the Clean Air Act and the Freedom of Information Act were largely due to Nader's activism as well. During those successful years he attracted a citizen following, some banding together as "Nader's Raiders" to expose corporate greed and work for environmental protection. Ralph Nader has been an inspiration to millions of Americans through his books, speeches, research, and activism.

Bio © Larry Auld