Pierre F. Goodrich (1894–1973) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

businessman and

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

philanthropist.Morgan N. Knull
Goodrich, Pierre
, ''

First Principles In philosophy and science, a first principle is a basic proposition or assumption that cannot be deduced from any other proposition or assumption. First principles in philosophy are from First Cause attitudes and taught by Aristotelians, and nua ...

'', 09/23/11Evan Sparks

'' Philanthropy (magazine), Philanthropy'', Summer 2010Robert T. Grimm (ed.), ''Notable American Philanthropists: Biographies of Giving and Volunteering'', Greenwood Publishing Group, 2002, pp. 125–28

Biography

Pierre Frist Goodrich was born on September 10, 1894, in

Winchester, Indiana Winchester is a city in White River Township, Randolph County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 4,935 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Randolph County. It is the home of Winchester Speedway. History Winchester ...

. His father was

James P. Goodrich James Putnam Goodrich, (February 18, 1864 – August 15, 1940), was an American politician and member of the Republican Party who served as the 29th governor of Indiana from 1917 to 1921. His term focused on reforming the operations of the ...

, a successful businessman and the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Governor of Indiana The governor of Indiana is the head of government of the State of Indiana. The governor is elected to a four-year term and is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day management of the functions of many agencies of the Indiana state governmen ...

from 1917 to 1921. He attended

Wabash College Wabash College is a private liberal arts men's college in Crawfordsville, Indiana. Founded in 1832 by several Dartmouth College graduates and Midwestern leaders, it enrolls nearly 900 students. The college offers an undergraduate liberal arts cu ...

and Harvard Law School. He worked as a lawyer in Indianapolis,

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

. He later took over his father's concerns, including the Indiana Telephone Company, Peoples Loan and Trust, and the Ayrshire Collieries Corporation. He served on the Boards of Trustees of the

Great Books Foundation The Great Books Foundation, incorporated in the state of Illinois and based in Chicago, is an independent, nonprofit educational organization whose mission is to help people think and share ideas. Toward this end, the Foundation publishes collect ...

, the

Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra (ISO) is an American orchestra based in Indianapolis, Indiana. The largest performing arts organization in Indiana, the orchestra is based at the Hilbert Circle Theatre in downtown Indianapolis on Monument Ci ...

, the China Institute, the

Intercollegiate Society of Individualists The Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) is a nonprofit educational organization that promotes conservative thought on college campuses. It was founded in 1953 by Frank Chodorov with William F. Buckley Jr. as its first president. It sponsors ...

, the

Foundation for Economic Education The Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) is an American conservative, libertarian economic think tank. Founded in 1948 in New York City, FEE is now headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. It is a member of the State Policy Network. FEE offers ...

, and the

Institute for Humane Studies The Institute for Humane Studies (IHS) is a non-profit organization that promotes the teaching and research of classical liberalism in higher education in the United States. IHS offers funding opportunities, programs, and events for faculty and g ...

. He was a member of the

Mont Pelerin Society The Mont Pelerin Society (MPS) is an international organization composed of economists, philosophers, historians, intellectuals and business leaders.Michael Novak, 'The Moral Imperative of a Free Economy', in '' The 4% Solution: Unleashing the E ...

. He served on the Board of Trustees of his alma mater, Wabash College, from 1940 to 1969. As trustee, he advocated the

Great Books A classic is a book accepted as being exemplary or particularly noteworthy. What makes a book "classic" is a concern that has occurred to various authors ranging from Italo Calvino to Mark Twain and the related questions of "Why Read the Cl ...

curriculum popularized by

Mortimer J. Adler Mortimer Jerome Adler (December 28, 1902 – June 28, 2001) was an American philosopher, educator, encyclopedist, and popular author. As a philosopher he worked within the Aristotelian and Thomistic traditions. He lived for long stretches in N ...

and

Robert Maynard Hutchins Robert Maynard Hutchins (January 17, 1899 – May 14, 1977) was an American educational philosopher. He was president (1929–1945) and chancellor (1945–1951) of the University of Chicago, and earlier dean of Yale Law School (1927–1929). His& ...

, which the school adopted in 1946. He also built the Goodrich Seminar Room in Wabash’s main library, dedicated to liberty. However, he subsequently grew weary of the school's move towards an embrace of counterculture of the 1960s. In the 1950s, he established two foundations to promote liberty, the Winchester Foundation and Thirty Five Twenty. In 1960, he founded the

Liberty Fund Liberty Fund, Inc. is an American private educational foundation headquartered in Carmel, founded by Pierre F. Goodrich. Through publishing, conferences, and educational resources, the operating mandate of the Liberty Fund was set forth in an un ...

, a

free-market In economics, a free market is an economic system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of government or any ot ...

think tank headquartered in Indianapolis. He wrote ''Liberty Fund Basic Memorandum'', a 129-page booklet with instructions on how to run the think tank. In 1973, LibertyPress published Goodrich's essay "Education in a Free Society," co-authored with Benjamin A. Rogge.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goodrich, Pierre F. 1894 births 1973 deaths Businesspeople from Indianapolis Wabash College alumni Harvard Law School alumni 20th-century American lawyers People from Winchester, Indiana 20th-century American businesspeople