Born December 11, 1939
Royal Oak, Michigan

Political activist, organizer and reformer,
politician, writer

Tom Hayden came of age as a controversial, well-known political activist and organizer during the 1960s. He was a leader in what came to be known as the New Left. The movement was made up of students and young adults who emerged from America's middle class and were discouraged by the majority's tolerance for the continuation of poverty despite the presence of wealth. During the decade, Hayden first committed himself to the struggle for civil rights, then in community organizing, and finally in the growing movement against U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War (1954–75). Unlike many other political radicals from the 1960s, Hayden remained active in politics, most prominently as a member of the California legislature.