Russell W. Peterson papers

Russell W. Peterson (1916-2011), served as governor of Delaware from 1969 to 1973.

After leaving office, he remained politically active as a leading figure in environmental advocacy and wildlife preservation. Peterson held positions such as chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality, director of the United States Congress Office of Technology Assessment, and president of the National Audubon Society. In 1996, Peterson changed his party affiliation from Republican to Democrat.

Russell Peterson was born in Portage, Wisconsin, on October 3, 1916. He was the eighth of nine children born to Emma Anthony Peterson and Johan Anton Peterson. Peterson received a B.S. degree from the University of Wisconsin, where he went on to complete a Ph.D. in chemistry in 1942. Peterson was married to Lillian Turner until her death in 1994. He was later married to June B. Jenkins.

After receiving his Ph.D., Peterson spent 26 years working for the DuPont Company in Delaware. Starting as a research chemist, he rose to the position of Director of Research and Development. At DuPont, Peterson led research on Dacron polyester fiber and set up the first Dacron plant in Kinston, North Carolina.

In 1968, Peterson was elected governor of Delaware. His first act as governor was to order the National Guard off the streets of Wilmington, where they had been stationed since the assassination of Martin Luther King. One of Peterson’s most notable achievements during his four-year administration was the passage of the Coastal Zone Act of 1971, which prohibited all new development of heavy industry in a two-mile wide, 115-mile-long zone that covered the coast of Delaware.

After his term as governor, Peterson was appointed chair of the President’s Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). In 1974, as chair of the CEQ, Peterson organized and co-chaired a federal task force to study the claim that chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) used in aerosol sprays and as refrigerants were a threat to the ozone layer. His work contributed to the global phase-out of CFCs. In 1978, Peterson was appointed head of the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment (OTA). The mission of this office was to advise Congress on the long-term economic, environmental, and social impacts of technological innovations.

From 1979 to 1985, Peterson was president of the National Audubon Society. He expanded the mission of Audubon beyond the protection of wildlife, embracing new issues like population control, energy policy and curbing toxic chemicals. In the 1980s, Peterson taught as a visiting professor at Dartmouth College, Carleton College, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

As a long-time bird watcher, Peterson served as president of the International Council for Bird Preservation from 1982-1990. He also held numerous other leadership positions, such as member of the Commission on Critical Choices for Americans, president of New Directions, member of the President’s Commission on the Accident at Three Mile Island, chairman of the Global Tomorrow Coalition, vice president of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (now IUCN – The World Conservation Union), president of the Better World Society, and board member of the Riverfront Development Corporation. Peterson promoted revitalization of the urban shoreline in Wilmington, Delaware, which now includes the 250-acre Russell W. Peterson Urban Wildlife Refuge. In 2000, Peterson created the citizens’ action group SURJ (Stand Up for What's Right and Just). This group worked to reform Delaware’s criminal justice system.

Throughout his life, Peterson wrote and published frequently. He wrote two books, Rebel with a Conscience and Patriots, Stand Up! which were published in 1999 and 2003 respectively. Peterson passed away on February 21, 2011, at the age of 94.

“Russell W. Peterson: A Register of His Papers in the Library of Congress.” Manuscript Division, Library of Congress. 2006. “Russell Wilbur Peterson, Obituary.” The News Journal. http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/delawareonline/obituary.aspx?pid=148892333 (accessed October 2015). “Russell W. Peterson.” The Wisconsin Conservation Hall of Fame. http://www.wchf.org/inductees/peterson.html (accessed October 2015). Martin, Douglas. “R.W. Peterson, Leader on Environment, Dies at 94.” The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/24/us/politics/24peterson.html?_r=0 (accessed October 2015).