John Bertram Oakes

Who was John Bertram Oakes?

John Bertram Oakes was an iconoclastic and influential U.S. journalist known for his early commitment to the environment, civil rights, and opposition to the Vietnam War. He was born in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, the second son of George Washington Ochs Oakes and Bertie Gans. The creator of the modern op-ed page and editor of the New York Times editorial page from 1961 to 1976, his was an idealistic and progressive American voice.

His uncle was Adolph Ochs, the publisher of the New York Times. Oakes attended Princeton University, where he was valedictorian of his class and graduated magna cum laude. He then became a Rhodes Scholar.