Born March 6, 1927

Tulsa, Oklahoma

Died March 26, 2003

Washington, D.C.

Social scientist and U.S. senator

Daniel Patrick Moynihan. Getty Images.

"Religion and race define the next stage in the evolution of the American peoples."

Daniel Patrick Moynihan had two careers: the first as a professor and sociologist, and the second as a public servant and U.S. senator from New York. As a sociologist, Moynihan created a stir in 1963 when he and coauthor Nathan Glazer (1923–) published Beyond the Melting Pot: The Negroes, Puerto Ricans, Jews, Italians, and Irish of New York City, challenging the idea that as different nationalities came to the United States, they melded together to create a new "American" identity.

As a politician, Moynihan was a Democrat, but he held positions under both Democratic and Republican presidents. He often used his academic work in trying to solve difficult social problems...