Hartford N. Gunn Jr. (1927 – January 2, 1986) was the founding President of the Public Broadcasting Service (

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

Early life and education

Gunn was born in 1927 in Port Washington, New York to mother Edith Arnold Gunn In 1948, he graduated from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in

King's Point King's Point is a town on the north shore of the southwest arm of Green Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador, Green Bay in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. King's Point is by road (Newfoundland and Labrador Route 391, Route 391) from Springdale, ...

, New York. Gunn received a second bachelor's degree at Harvard University in 1949, and went on to study at

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

, receiving his MBA in 1951. He served as a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Naval Reserve, and was voted one of the outstanding men of the year in 1962 by the Boston Junior Chamber of Commerce.

Career

After graduating from Harvard Business School in 1951, Gunn started working at Boston's

WGBH-TV WGBH-TV (channel 2), branded GBH or GBH 2 since 2020, is the primary PBS List of PBS member stations, member television station in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Affiliated stations and facilities WGBH-TV is the Flagship (broadcasting), ...

. At the time he started, WGBH was an FM radio station and he expanded it to include a television station. Over the next five years, he had the role of director of operations before assuming the position of general manager in 1957. In 1969 as manager of

, Gunn invited

Fred Rogers Fred McFeely Rogers (March 20, 1928 – February 27, 2003), better known as Mister Rogers, was an American television host, author, producer, and Presbyterian minister. He was the creator, showrunner, and host of the preschool television s ...

to accompany him and testify before the Senate Subcommittee on Communications in support of the full funding of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. In 1970 he was chosen as the first president of the Public Broadcasting Service, at least in part due to his "widely acknowledged success in the 1960s at the Boston television station WGBH". Gunn became vice-chairman of PBS in 1976. He was senior vice president and general manager of

KCET KCET (channel 28) is a secondary PBS member television station in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is owned by the Public Media Group of Southern California alongside the market's primary PBS member, Huntington Beach–licensed KOC ...

, (at the time it was the public TV station in Los Angeles) from 1979 until 1983. Before his death he worked as a public television consultant in

Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is the county seat of Anne Arundel County and its only incorporated city. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east ...

where he had lived. In 1964, he was the recipient of the Lamp of Knowledge Award for his contribution to educational television and radio. Gunn also received the third annual

Ralph Lowell Major Ralph Lowell (July 23, 1890 – May 15, 1978) was a World War I veteran, banker, and philanthropist from Boston. Lowell was born in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, to John and Mary Emlen Lowell (Lowell 1899, p 302). Lowell graduated f ...

Medal for creative public broadcasting in 1973.

Death

On January 2, 1986, Gunn died of multi-focal

leukoencephalopathy Leukoencephalopathy ( leukodystrophy-like diseases) is a term that describes all of the brain white matter diseases, whether their molecular cause is known or unknown. It can refer specifically to any of these diseases: * Progressive multifocal le ...

, a rare, cancer-related illness at

Massachusetts General Hospital Massachusetts General Hospital (Mass General or MGH) is a teaching hospital located in the West End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It is the original and largest clinical education and research facility of Harvard Medical School/Harvar ...

at the age of 59.

References

Harvard Business School alumni Deaths from cancer in Massachusetts People from Port Washington, New York People from Annapolis, Maryland PBS people WGBH Educational Foundation 1927 births 1986 deaths {{US-tv-bio-stub

Early life and education

Career

Death

See also

References