John Bertram Oakes (April 23, 1913 – April 5, 2001) was an iconoclastic and influential U.S. journalist known for his early commitment to the environment, civil rights, and opposition to the Vietnam War.
Overview
John Bertram Oakes (April 23, 1913 – April 5, 2001) was an iconoclastic and influential U.S. journalist known for his early commitment to the environment, civil rights, and opposition to the Vietnam War.
Background
John Bertram Oakes was born on April 23, 1913, in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, the second son of George Washington Ochs Oakes and Bertie Gans. He is regarded as the creator of the modern op-ed page and was editor of the New York Times editorial page from 1961 to 1976. His uncle was New York Times publisher Adolph Ochs. Oakes attended the Collegiate School and later Princeton University (A.B., 1934), where he was valedictorian of his class and graduated magna cum laude. He then became a Rhodes Scholar (A.B., A.M., Queens College, Oxford, 1936).
Career
