Ralph Nader

Ralph Nader (born February 27, 1934) is an American lawyer, political activist, consumer advocate, environmentalist, and author whose career has spanned more than six decades. Born in Winsted, Connecticut to Lebanese‑immigrant parents, he grew up delivering newspapers and helping in his father's bakery before excelling academically at Princeton University (magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa) and Harvard Law School (LL.B., 1958). After a brief stint in the U.S. Army as a cook, Nader was admitted to the bar in 1959 and began practicing law in Hartford while lecturing at the University of Hartford. His 1965 bestseller Unsafe at Any Speed exposed dangerous automotive designs, most notably the Chevrolet Corvair, and directly influenced the passage of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act in 1966. The book launched Nader into national prominence and led him to organize volunteer law students known as "Nader's Raiders," whose investigations prompted reforms at the Federal Trade Commission and other agencies. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s he founded several watchdog organizations—including Public Citizen, the Center for Auto Safety, and the Congressional Accountability Project—ushering in landmark consumer‑protection legislation such as the Freedom of Information Act and the Consumer Product Safety Act. Nader’s relentless campaigning extended to environmental issues, where he became a leading opponent of nuclear power and helped shape the Clean Water Act. He has run for President of the United States four times (1996, 2000, 2004, 2008), alternating between the Green Party and independent status, and consistently emphasized electoral reform and corporate accountability. Beyond politics, he authored more than two dozen books, appeared in documentaries like An Unreasonable Man, and founded the American Museum of Tort Law. Known for his ascetic lifestyle, modest dress, and refusal to own a car or television, Nader continues to host the Ralph Nader Radio Hour and remains an influential voice on consumer and environmental issues.