Russell Kirk (1918–1994)

Russell Kirk was one of the founders of the post-World War II conservative movement. His influence began with the publication of his book The Conservative Mind, now in its seventh edition, which traced the intellectual roots of conservatism from Edmund Burke to T. S. Eliot.

He was a college professor, a visiting professor and lecturer at many colleges and universities, co-founder and editor of National Review (with William F. Buckley, Jr.), founder and editor of Modern Age, editor of The University Bookman, and founder and editor of a series of books called The Library of Conservative Thought. He wrote biography, intellectual history, cultural criticism, social criticism, literary criticism, political commentary, a syndicated column, and award-winning ghost stories and novels. His prose style has often been praised across the political spectrum.

With his wife Annette and his four daughters, his ancestral home, Piety Hill in rural Mecosta, Michgan (population about 500) became a haven for students, professors, scholars, lost souls, transients and others whom Kirk called refugees from progress. He spent much of his time at home with his famiy, writing, reading, going on long walks, planting trees, and entertaining visitors.