Nader, Ralph (1924–)

CONSUMER ADVOCATE, lawyer, environmentalist, feminist, and presidential candidate, Ralph Nader has forged a unique place in American culture and politics. Nader was born in Winsted, Connecticut. He graduated from Princeton University in 1955 and earned a law degree from Harvard in 1958. After practicing law for a brief period in Hartford, Nader arrived in Washington, D.C., in 1963 to work for Daniel Moynihan, the assistant secretary of labor. Nader wrote numerous articles for such diverse publications as The Nation and the Christian Science Monitor.

Pursuing an interest developed at Harvard, Nader also served as a voluntary adviser to a Senate subcommittee investigating automobile safety. He soon developed a special interest in the Corvair produced by General Motors (GM). Consumers who had bought the Corvair between 1960 ...