Herbert I. London was the founder and president of the London Center for Policy Research. He founded the Center in 2013, which he guided until his passing in 2018. He was president of the Hudson Institute from 1997 to 2011. Dr. London was professor emeritus and the former John M. Olin Professor of Humanities at New York University. He was responsible for creating the Gallatin School of Individualized Study in 1972 and was its dean until 1992. This school was organized to promote the study of “great books” and classic texts.
Herbert London graduated from Columbia University in 1960 and was the recipient of a Ph.D. from New York University in 1966.
Dr. London was a noted social critic whose work appeared in every major newspaper and journal in the country including such diverse publications as Commentary, National Review, American Spectator, Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Washington Times, New York Magazine, New York Times, Christian Science Monitor, Modern Age, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Orbis, Encounter, Forbes, and The New Criterion. He was the author and editor of thirty books and three plays “My Most Embarrassing Moment”, “A Love That Cannot Speak Its Name” and “Mr. Tin Pan Alley.”
In addition to Dr. London’s television program, “Myths that Rule America,” he created a 47-part C.B.S. series entitled “The American Character.” He has been a guest lecturer on many major radio and television news programs and at colleges and universities and has appeared as co-host on the popular CNN program, “Crossfire.” He was one of the founders of the National Association of Scholars, the erstwhile editor of Academic Questions and was the Chairman of the organization. Dr. London was Executive producer of “Rodney King Incident.” He was formerly syndicated by Knight-Ridder and Bridge News. He was a contributing editor for St. Croix Review, American Arts Quarterly and The American Spectator. Dr. London wrote a monthly newsletter called The London Letter and a nationally syndicated column for King Features.
Dr. London was listed in the Outstanding People of the 21st Century; Directory of Distinguished Americans; Who’s Who in Education; Who’s Who in the East; Men of Distinction; Who’s Who in America, Kingston’s National Registry of Who’s Who, and 2000 Outstanding Intellectuals of the 21st Century. He was a recipient of honorary degrees from the University of Aix-Marseille, 1983 and Grove City College, 1993. He received a Presidential Citation from N.Y.U., was a recipient of the National Pro-Am Achievement Award, was the 1996 recipient of the Martin Luther King Award from the Congress of Racial Equality for Citizenship Achievement, was the 1997 recipient of the Jacques Maritain Society Award, was the first recipient of the Peter Shaw Award for his exemplary writing on higher education and American intellectual culture, was awarded the Templeton Honor Roll Award in 1997 as one of the nation’s exemplary professors. In 2000, he received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, in 2001 the American Jewish Congress Award, and in 2002 the Liberty and Media Award. In 2011, he received the Harbour League’s Founders Award and in 2012 he was given the Jeane Kirkpatrick Academic Freedom Award from the Bradley Foundation.
In 1989, Dr. London was one of the Republican candidates for Mayor of New York City. In 1990 he was the Conservative Party Candidate for Governor of New York garnering more votes than any third party candidate in the state’s history. In 1994 he was the Republican Party candidate for New York State Comptroller losing in a close election.
He was on the Board of Trustees for BlackRock Funds, the Board of Advisors for Cerego LLC, the Board of Directors for InnoCentive; the Board of Trustees for the American Council on Science and Health; Chairman of the Board of Governors for Grantham University; Chairman of the Board of the National Association of Scholars; the Editorial Advisory Board for the Edmund Burke Institute; the Board of Directors of the Coalition for a Secure Driver’s License; the Board of Directors of the National Association for Industry-Education Cooperation. He was an advisor to the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, Inc., and the Texas Education Review. He was a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He formerly served on the Board of Governors at St. John’s College, the Board of Overseers at the Center for Naval Analyses, the board of the Hudson Institute and the Board of the American Jewish Congress. He was an affiliated professor at the University of Haifa in Israel. He was a member of the Union League Club.
As a result of Dr. London’s remarkable vision and exceptional leadership skills, the London Center for Policy Research successfully advanced U.S. national interest and enlightened the leaders of our Republic in an effort to ensure that America remain the greatest nation on Earth.