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[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.
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 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]
