April 22, 1970 - Gaylord Nelson

Human Rights a Day

U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson starts first Earth Day.Troubled by the state of the environment, U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin convinced U.S. President Kennedy to initiate a five-day, 11-state conservation tour in September 1963. The tour didn’t put the environment on the national agenda, but Nelson didn’t give up. Years later he was so impressed with the impact of teach-ins during the Vietnam War that he decided to copy the idea for the environment. While at a conference in Seattle in September 1969, Nelson announced that a nation-wide grassroots demonstration would take place in the spring of 1970. From that point forward, his senatorial staff couldn’t keep up. The former two-term state governor and three-term U.S. senator knew there was support, but was surprised politicians never took the issue seriously. When the New York Times did a lengthy article about the upcoming event, he knew it would be a success. And what a success it was. This first attempt on April 22, 1970 drew 20 million participants. American Heritage magazine called it, “one of the most remarkable happenings in the history of democracy.” As the degradation of the planet moved beyond a passing interest, more people wanted to save the earth from global warming and rampant consumerism at all cost. Earth Day is now observed in 175 countries. Earth Day Network, a non-profit organization coordinating the event, says it is "the largest secular holiday in the world, celebrated by more than a half billion people every year.” In 1995 President Bill Clinton awarded retired Senator Gaylord Nelson the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honour given to civilians in the United States. Nelson died on July 3, 2005.