1912

Born on October 8 in Los Angeles, CA

1929

Enters Stanford University as a freshman at age sixteen

1932-1934

Takes time off in the Gold Country, trying his hand at writing fiction

1934

Marriage to Aida Marroquín

1935

BA in Psychology, Stanford University

1936

MA in Psychology, Stanford University

1938

PhD in Psychology, UC Berkeley

Stephanie Marie Gardner born

1938-1940

Teaches Psychology at Connecticut College for Women

1940

Francesca Marroquín Gardner born

1940-1942

Teaches Psychology at Mount Holyoke College

1941

Pearl Harbor is attacked (December 7); US enters World War II

1942-1943

Head of Latin American section, Foreign Broadcast Information Service

1943-1946

Officer, US Marine Corps, Office of Strategic Services (OSS), serving in Italy and Austria

1946

Joins Carnegie Corporation staff

1955-1965

President, Carnegie Corporation & Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching

1959

Gives his first of two Commencement addresses at Stanford

1964

Civil Rights Act of 1964 becomes law

Receives Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Lyndon B. Johnson for his contributions to education policy

John Gardner's idea about leadership development for a democratic society leads to founding of the White House Fellows program

1965

Stanford Alumni Association awards Gardner the Herbert Hoover Medal for Distinguished Service

1965-1968

Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare (August 18, 1965-March 1, 1968)

1965

Voting Rights Act of 1965 passed

Elementary and Secondary Education Act passed

Medicare and Medicaid Act of 1965 passed

1967

Public Broadcasting Act passed

1968

Resigns his Cabinet position

1968-1970

Serves as Chairman and CEO of the National Urban Coalition

1968-1982

Member, Stanford University Board of Trustees

1970-1977

Founder and Chairman, Common Cause

1976

Distinguished Achievement Medal, Stanford Athletic Board

1977-1980

Chairman of the President’s Commission on White House Fellowships

1980-1983

Co-Founder and Chairman, Independent Sector

1984

Stanford Associates awards Gardner the Degree of Uncommon Man

1984

Keynote speaker, Entrepreneurs in the Public Interest (Stanford You Can Make a Difference Conference)

1985

Stanford and UC Berkeley establish the John Gardner Public Service Fellowship

Stanford establishes the Public Service Center (now the Haas Center for Public Service)

Independent Sector launches the John W. Gardner Leadership Award

1986-2002

Member, National Advisory Board, Haas Center for Public Service

1989-1996

Miriam and Peter Haas Centennial Professor in Public Service

Lecturer at Stanford's Graduate School of Education (1989-1996)

Lecturer at Stanford's Graduate School of Business (1990-1996)

1991

Keynote Speaker, Stanford Centennial Commencement

1993

Dedication speech for the Haas Center for Public Service's new building

1996-1999

Stanford's Graduate School of Education appoints Gardner as Consulting Professor

2000

Dedication of the John W. Gardner Center for Youth and their Communities

2002

John W. Gardner dies on February 16 at age 89

2010

Francesca Marroquín Gardner dies at age 69

2015

Aida Marroquín Gardner dies at age 102

2016

Stephanie Gardner Trimble donates bulk of Gardner's papers to Stanford's University Archives

2017-2020

Stanford Historical Society Oral History Program conducts John W. Gardner Legacy Oral History Project