Pierre Frist 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, p ...

businessman and

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

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

.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 nuan ...

'', 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, Indiana, United States. The city is the county seat of Randolph County. The population was 4,843 at the 2020 census. It is the home of Winchester Speedway. History Winchester was l ...

. His father was James P. Goodrich, a successful businessman and the Republican

Governor of Indiana The governor of Indiana is the head of government of the U.S. 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 gover ...

from 1917 to 1921. He attended

Wabash College Wabash College is a private liberal arts men's college located in Crawfordsville, Indiana. Founded in 1832, by a group of Dartmouth College graduates and Midwestern leaders, the institution was originally named "The Wabash Teachers Seminary an ...

and

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

. He worked as a lawyer in

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the 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 is an independent nonprofit educational organization in Chicago, Illinois that publishes collections of classic and modern literature as part of reading and discussion programs for children and adults. The foundation ...

, the

Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra (ISO) is a major American orchestra based in Indianapolis, Indiana. The largest performing arts organization in Indiana, the orchestra was founded in 1930 and is based at the Hilbert Circle Theatre in downtown ...

, the

China Institute China Institute in America is a nonprofit educational and cultural institution based in New York City. Its work is focused on promoting Chinese culture and history through talks, business initiatives, language immersion programs, and gallery exh ...

, 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 sponsor ...

, the

Foundation for Economic Education The Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative, Libertarianism in the United States, libertarian economics, economic think tank. Founded in 1946 in New York City, FEE is now headquartere ...

, 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), founded in 1947, is an international academic society of Economist, economists, Political philosophy, political philosophers, and other Intelligentsia, intellectuals who share a classical liberal outlook. It is hea ...

. 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, popular author and lay theologian. As a philosopher he worked within the Aristotelian and Thomistic traditions. He taught at ...

and

Robert Maynard Hutchins Robert Maynard Hutchins (January 17, 1899 – May 14, 1977) was an American educational philosopher. He was the President of the University of Chicago, 5th president (1929–1945) and chancellor (1945–1951) of the University of Chicago, and ear ...

, 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 The counterculture of the 1960s was an anti-establishment cultural phenomenon and political movement that developed in the Western world during the mid-20th century. It began in the early 1960s, and continued through the early 1970s. It is ofte ...

. 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 nonprofit foundation headquartered in Carmel, Indiana, that promotes the libertarian views of its founder, Pierre F. Goodrich, through publishing, conferences, and educational resources. The operating mandat ...

, 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 Member of the Mont Pelerin Society 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American philanthropists Philanthropists from Indiana