Richard Irving "Dick" Stearns, III (September 4, 1927 – January 25, 2022) was an American competitive sailor and Olympic and Pan American Games medalist.

Biography

Stearns was born in

Evanston, Illinois Evanston is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States, situated on the North Shore (Chicago), North Shore along Lake Michigan. A suburb of Chicago, Evanston is north of Chicago Loop, downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skok ...

. In 1963, he won a

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

along with Robert Halperin at the

Pan American Games The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...

Sao Paulo, Brazil SAO or Sao may refer to: Places * Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD * Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso * Serb Autonomous Regions (''Srpska autonomna oblast'', SAO), during the breakup of ...

, sailing ''Ninotchka''. He also started the company

Lands' End Lands' End, Inc., headquartered in Dodgeville, Wisconsin, is a retailer of clothing, baggage, and furniture. In fiscal 2023, 63.2% of its revenue was from online retail orders in the U.S., 7.7% of revenue was international orders, 18.3% of re ...

, in the Spring of 1963, with Halperin, Halperin's close friend

Gary Comer Gary Campbell Comer (December 10, 1927 – October 4, 2006) was the founder of mail order clothing retailer Lands' End.Dennis Hevesi"Gary C. Comer, 78, Founder of Lands’ End, Dies,"''New York Times'', October 6, 2006. Early life Born on the S ...

, and two of Stearns' employees. He won a silver medal in the Star class at the

1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honor was subseq ...

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, together with Lynn Williams.

References

External links

* 1927 births 2022 deaths Sportspeople from Evanston, Illinois American male sailors (sport) Sailors at the 1964 Summer Olympics – Star Olympic silver medalists for the United States in sailing Star class world champions Medalists at the 1964 Summer Olympics World champions in sailing for the United States Sailors at the 1963 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1963 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in sailing 20th-century American sportsmen {{US-yachtracing-bio-stub