Gallup was influential in convincing his family to poll Americans on their religious views
George Gallup Jr., seen in 1996, died at age 81 in Princeton. His father founded the Gallup Poll. PRINCETON — George Gallup Jr., the son of the legendary founder of the Gallup Poll, who pushed the polling agency into conducting surveys on religion and the views of youth, died in Princeton, a year after being diagnosed with liver cancer, his family said Wednesday. He was 81.
The Gallup Poll, widely considered to be the premier polling service in the United States, gained fame for predicting President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s re-election victory in 1936. The poll is best known for presidential approval ratings but also gauges public opinion on many topics, including religion, health, jobs and economics.
Born in 1930 in Evanston, Ill., Gallup joined his father’s business in 1954. George Gallup Sr., died in 1984, and a few years later the company was sold to Selection Research, which held onto the well-respected Gallup name and kept both sons, George and Alec, on board.
A memorial for Gallup, who retired from the polling company in 2004, will be held Jan. 14 at 11 a.m. at Princeton Chapel.
Gallup, who earned a bachelor of arts degree in religion from Princeton, was influential in convincing his family to poll Americans on their religious views. The data has been used by civic and political leaders ever since.
"I knew him well for 20 years. He was a great man," said Frank Newport, the editor-in-chief of Gallup. "He was warm. He was genuine, and he was very religious, and I think that meant that he genuinely cared about other people. So many people in business are out for themselves and are not interested in others. George was genuinely interested in people. That’s why so many people loved him."
Newport said Gallup spoke at an educational lunch seminar this summer, which was broadcast to satellite Gallup offices across the country. Appearing "chipper and upbeat," Gallup tailored his talk for the young workers who might not have known much about the organization’s history, Newport said.
"We thought it was great to let George tell stories about the past," he said.
D. Michael Lindsay, who coauthored two books with Gallup, said his long-time friend had a gentle touch, considering he was a man who wielded considerable power and influence on the national stage.
"He was so down to earth and humble," said Lindsay, who is the president of Gordon College in Massachusetts. "When people came up to get his autograph, he would ask for their’s as well."
Lindsay remembered the time the pair traveled to California for a speaking engagement and received an elaborate gift basket in their suite. Gallup handed out its contents to the hotel staff.
"And he loved chocolate," Lindsay said, "so I know it wasn’t because he didn’t like it."
In a lengthy interview for a PBS documentary in 2000, Gallup spoke extensively about the impact his father had on the polling industry.
"I believe that polling has made a huge contribution to this country, because it’s removed power out of the hands of special interest groups, it’s given people who wouldn’t normally have a voice a voice, not only on issues, but also in terms of products and services, really," he told the news organization.
Of his father, he told PBS: "It was his dream that everybody around the world should be heard. And, in fact, through surveys and sampling, this is now a possibility."
By Dan Goldberg and Amy Brittain/The Star-Ledger
The Associated Press contributed to this report.