The American political activist and educator Michael Harrington (1928-1989) was a tireless advocate of democratic socialism. He helped develop the War on Poverty conducted by Presidents Kennedy and Johnson.

Michael Harrington was born into a middle class family and educated at Holy Cross College (A.B., 1947), Yale Law School, and the University of Chicago (M.A., 1949). He was drawn to the political left early in his career, becoming a conscientious objector to the Korean War and serving as associate editor of a Christian anarchist publication, The Catholic Worker, in 1951-1952. Harrington soon converted to socialism and was one of its most eloquent voices for over 30 years. During that time he supported himself by writing, lecturing, and, after 1972, teaching at Queens College of the City University of New York, where he was a professor of political science.

He always managed to give prodigious amounts of time and energy to...