Background

George Gallup was born on November 18, 1901, in the small town of Jefferson, Iowa, the son of George Henry Gallup, a farmer as well as a real estate dealer in agricultural land, and of Nettie Davenport.

Education

All of his higher education took place at the University of Iowa where he received a Bachelor's degree in 1923, a Master's degree in 1925, and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in 1928.

He also received honorary Doctor of Law degrees from Northwestern University, Drake University, Boston University, Chattanooga University, and the University of Iowa; an honorary Doctor of Science degree from Tufts University; an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Colgate University; and an honorary Doctor of Civil Law degree from Rider College.

Career

Gallup taught for brief periods on the faculties of Drake, Northwestern, and Columbia universities. Meanwhile, he was conducting reader-interest evaluation surveys for a number of major Midwestern newspapers. In 1932, at the age of 31, he accepted a position as director of research at a rising New York advertising firm, Young and Rubicam. The firm's clients were eager for data concerning public reaction to various products. Gallup, who became vice president of the firm in 1937, remained with Young and Rubicam for more than a decade.

In 1935 while he was still associated with Young and Rubicam, Gallup founded the independent American Institute of Public Opinion in Princeton, New Jersey, to gather information about public attitudes regarding a variety of topics. That year he also published the first random-sample opinion poll in a newspaper column, "America Speaks." The column was eventually distributed to 200 subscribing newspapers. Audience Research, Inc., was formed in 1937 and was an organization devoted primarily to assessing public reaction to movie titles, casts, and stories.

Convinced that his sampling methods were as valid for politics as they were for marketing choices Gallup boldly and correctly predicted that Franklin Roosevelt (1933 - 1945) would win the 1936 presidential election over Alf Landon. Although in 1948 Gallup, like other pollsters, incorrectly picked Governor Thomas Dewey to win over incumbent President Harry Truman (1945 - 1953), his polling techniques changed the political landscape forever. By the turn of the century it would be unthinkable that any political campaign would be undertaken without extensive polling. In 1958, Gallup grouped all of his polling operations under what became The Gallup Organization.

George Gallup died on July 26, 1984, of a heart attack at his summer home in Tschingel ob Gunten, a village in the Bernese Oberland of Switzerland. He was buried in Princeton Cemetery.

Achievements

• George Gallup was a pioneer in the field of public opinion polling, who developed methods for perfecting the selection of sample populations, interviewing techniques, and formulation of questions.
  
  Gallup was widely honored for his creative work and enjoyed a long list of awards: elected to Hall of Fame in Distribution in 1962; elected to Advertising Hall of Fame in 1977, and to Market Research Hall of Fame in 1978.

Works

More photos

• Other Work

  • A guide to public opinion polls
  • The secrets of long life,
  • The Gallup Poll: Public Opinion 1992
  • The Pulse of Democracy: The Public-Opinion Poll and How It Works
  • The Gallup International Public Opinion Polls, Great Britain, 1937-1975 V1
  • The Gallup International Public Opinion Polls, Great Britain, 1937-1975 V2
  • The miracle ahead
  • The sophisticated poll watcher's guide
  • BEST CREATIVE WORK IN AMERICAN HIGH SCHOOLS 1928-1929

Views

George Gallup had firm beliefs in the validity of polling. In fact, he believed that polls made a positive contribution to the democratic process. In his view, "well-organized minorities can and do thwart the will of the majority." He firmly believed, however, that a carefully prepared opinion survey could be as accurate as a referendum and would be a lot cheaper.

Quotations: "I could prove God statistically. Take the human body alone - the chances that all the functions of an individual would just happen is a statistical monstrosity."

"Polling is merely an instrument for gauging public opinion. When a president or any other leader pays attention to poll results, he is, in effect, paying attention to the views of the people. Any other interpretation is nonsense."

Membership

• George Gallup was the founder of the Audience Research Institute.

  Audience Research Institute , New Jersey

• George Gallup was president of the International Association of Public Opinion Institutes.

  International Association of Public Opinion Institutes , Vienna

  1947 - 1984

• 

  George Gallup was a member of the Board of The Gallup Organization.

  Gallup, Inc. , Washington

  1958 - 1984

• George Gallup was president of the National Municipal League (now National Civic League).

  National Civic League , Philadelphia

  1953 - 1956

Connections

On December 27, 1925, George Gallup married Ophelia Smith Miller. They had two sons, Alec Miller and George Horace, Jr., and a daughter, Julia Gallup Laughlin.

Father:

George Henry Gallup

In 1890, George Gallup married Stella Roberts, by whom he had a daughter, Ruth.

After the death of his first wife, in 1893 he married Nettie Quella Davenport. They had two children.

In 1930, Gallup married Nellie Davis. The couple did not have children.

Mother:

Nettie Quella Gallup (Davenport)

Wife:

Ophelia Smith Gallup (Miller)

Daughter:

Julia Gallup Laughlin

Son:

George Horace, Jr.

George Horace Gallup, Jr. was an American pollster, writer and executive at The Gallup Organization.

Son:

Alec Miller Gallup

Sister:

Edna Short (Gallup)

half-sister:

Ruth Stella Armstrong (Gallup)

References

• Polls; Their Use and Misuse in Politics (Signed)
• Polling on the issues: A report from the Kettering Foundation