George Gallup

Profession: Inventor of the Gallup Poll

Biography: George Gallup was an American pioneer in the field of public opinion polling. He is most well-known for establishing the Gallup Poll, a widely respected barometer of public opinion that is still used to this day.

He attended the University of Iowa, where he pursued his interests, earning a B.A. in journalism in 1923. He went on to receive his Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Iowa in 1928. His academic work would serve as a foundation for his later endeavors in measuring public opinion.

Gallup founded the American Institute of Public Opinion in Princeton, New Jersey, in 1935, which would later become the Gallup Organization. His aim was to systematically and scientifically gauge public opinion. Gallup's approach to polling was innovative, using random sampling methods and rigorous statistical analysis to ensure the accuracy and representativeness of his polls.

His work gained national recognition when his polling predictions for the 1936 U.S. presidential election were markedly more accurate than the widely respected Literary Digest poll. While the Digest predicted a win for Republican candidate Alf Landon, Gallup correctly foresaw a landslide victory for incumbent President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

The success of his methods led to the expansion of Gallup polls, which began to influence not just political strategy and coverage, but also market research and the entertainment industry. The Gallup Poll started to measure public opinion on a wide range of social, political, and economic issues.

Gallup believed that public opinion polls could act as a form of democracy between elections, giving voice to the people and potentially influencing policy makers. He famously said, “If democracy is based on the will of the people, shouldn’t we find out what that will is?”

Born: November 18, 1901
Birthplace: Jefferson, Iowa, USA

Generation: Greatest Generation
Chinese Zodiac: Ox
Star Sign: Scorpio

Died: July 26, 1984 (aged 82)
Cause of Death: Heart attack