Gordon Wright (historian) - Personal Life

Personal Life

Wright was born on April 24, 1912 in Lynden, Washington. His family was traditionally school teachers, farmers and preachers and had lived in that area of the country since the 1630s. His great grandfather was a part of the gold rush in California but, like many, did not find the treasure for which he was searching. Wright once stated, "My family has never had the knack of making money."

While working in France, Wright began his own family. On August 20, 1946, he married his wife, Louise Aiken. In an article appearing in Perspectives in April 2000, Peter Stansky, Paul Robinson, and Gordon Craig said, “Gordon and Louise were an inseparable couple; she greatly enriched the life of the History Department and of the Stanford community.” Together, they had five sons: Eric, Michael, Philip, David, and Gregory. Tragedy struck the family when in 1965 Gregory died of leukemia. Wright and his wife would go on to become the grandparents of six children.

Wright was a committed liberal. In 1961, he protested the United States embargo against Cuba and later became an outspoken opponent of the Vietnam War. He was known to be a reserved and meek person, so much so that his colleagues planned his retirement event to honor his accomplishments in secret. Wright died on January 11, 2000, at the age of 87 from complications with diabetes.