January 1, 2009
Posted: January 1st, 2009 04:39 PM ET
Claiborne Pell, Rhode Island's senator from 1961 to 1997, has died.
Claiborne Pell, Rhode Island's senator from 1961 to 1997, has died.

(CNN) – Former Sen. Claiborne Pell, who was largely responsible for the Pell Grants for U.S. college students, died early Thursday morning at his home in Newport, Rhode Island, his family announced.

Pell, 90, "died peacefully in the presence of his wife Nuala and family members," the family statement said. He had suffered from Parkinson's disease for a number of years.

Born in New York City, Pell graduated from Princeton in 1940 and Columbia University in 1946, serving in the U.S. Coast Guard in between and later in the Coast Guard Reserve. Pell also worked for the State Department and as a foreign service officer from 1945 to 1952 in Czechoslovakia, Italy and Washington.

He was first elected to the Senate from Rhode Island in 1960, and served from January 3, 1961, to January 3, 1997, when he retired. He was the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 1987 to 1994, and was named U.S. delegate to the United Nations in 1997.

But Pell's great passion lay in education and the arts and humanities, believing that the country's people were its greatest asset. Largely through his efforts, Congress created the Pell Grants in 1973. He was the main sponsor of the bill creating the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

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Filed under: Claiborne Pell


Texas Democrat   January 1st, 2009 9:36 pm ET

If it wasn't for this man, I would not be able to go to college.
Thank You Senator!

Amber   January 1st, 2009 9:13 pm ET

Rest in peace and God bless you Honorable Mr. Pell. Your leadership enabled me to attend college.
There are few good men in this world, and your life's work makes you one of them.

Klee, Irving, TX   January 1st, 2009 9:04 pm ET

My condolences to the family of this good man. Thank you Fmr. Senator Pell for your dedication to Education and the creation of the Pell Grants. Because of the Pell Grants, I was able to pay half my way through college and graduate. Education is truly the key to opening so many doors to success and a bright future. I am eternally grateful and may you rest in peace sir!! God bless.

MikeH   January 1st, 2009 8:48 pm ET

A great and noble man.

The kind of man the Republicans hate, for Claiborne was for education of the common American of uncommon ability. Republicans hate it when people are educated, they are aharder to manipulate.

I hope there are many who step in to continue what Senator Pell started. America needs educated people to lead it out of the dark ages that the Republicans have plunged Amierica into.

GuyInVA   January 1st, 2009 8:26 pm ET

Rest in peace. His concern for the educational well being of this nation helped me attend and graduate college.

Proud American   January 1st, 2009 8:18 pm ET

He sounds like he was a real bright man, this nation could use a few more just like him. Thank You Mr. Pell.
"red" Maybe if your mom got off her back and got a real job she could always pay. Idiot.

jorge   January 1st, 2009 8:07 pm ET

A person coming from the Great state of Rhode island where i resided all my life i would like to say that this was a great tragedy for our state. He helped millions of people afford college. He is helping me right now pay for my college tution costs right now. May his family get the comfort and peace that they need on his well – lived life for the United states and for the state of rhode island. RIP Pell

Brenda   January 1st, 2009 8:07 pm ET

Red @ 6:45 ET

Don't be such a jerk.

Salala   January 1st, 2009 7:46 pm ET

Pell grants paid part of my way through two years at Howard University and got me started in grad school at GWU. To say that I am grateful does not even begin to describe how I feel about this opportunity and the difference I know it made in my life. Education was and still is the key that unlocks so many doors.

Kathie, Houston, TX   January 1st, 2009 7:39 pm ET

Thank you Senator Pell for the Pell grants. You gave me an opportunity to create a future for myself and my son when no one else wood. Your dedication to education, the greatest legacy of all. Our prayers go out to your family and friends.

Wish more of the world was forward thinking like him   January 1st, 2009 7:17 pm ET

unfortunately Bush spent his time looking backwards

me   January 1st, 2009 7:02 pm ET

I also thank former Senator Pell. I grew up in a large family who lived in the inner city with great parental support; however, we were poor. My father worked a full-time job with as much overtime as he could and also worked on cars for extra money. But it was the Pell grants that were the foundation of my education and enabled me to graduate from college then law school. I'm grateful for the opportunity.

Steph   January 1st, 2009 6:58 pm ET

My thoughts and prayers go out to his family. I hope they know how many lives he touched (including mine).

red   January 1st, 2009 6:45 pm ET

ohh no !!!!... how im i going to pay for my tuition!!!!!!!!!

America the Beautiful   January 1st, 2009 6:44 pm ET

Thank you Sen. Pell for the Pell Grants. I am graduating this May from grad school. No word can best express my gratitude for your services. RIP. God Bless

Lena   January 1st, 2009 6:04 pm ET

I would just like to offer my appreciation to Mr. Pell. His dedication to education has enabled many, including myself, to succeed.

Apples for sale   January 1st, 2009 5:59 pm ET

A real hero.

Lilarose in Bandon, Oregon   January 1st, 2009 5:51 pm ET

Thank you, Senator Pell, for helping me get my college education 1975-80. The Pell Grant was a huge reason I was able to go to college.

Bless you, Senator

maple   January 1st, 2009 5:50 pm ET

What a loss, but his legacy lives on! Truly a great man...

Amber   January 1st, 2009 5:45 pm ET

Bless this man and his family now and forever. I am a graduate of the arts, and while I didn't qualify for the program, I know many needy people who did. He is right–a nation's strength is in its people. Kind hearted, capable, well educated people who cherish the arts as a form of entertainment and expression. We need more of them.

Thank you for your legacy, Mr. Pell.

Lisa Brennan   January 1st, 2009 5:40 pm ET

Thank you Mr. Pell. Your legacy has provided me and my children with the realization of an education that would have otherwise been a dream. May your work live on and may the country continue on such paths with Obama. My thoughts and prayers are with your family. Doing the right thing for all those years of service and not losing sight of what is meaningful has changed our lives in this country where education is so difficult to obtain if you do not have the means yourself. The Bush regime, who gutted so much of our infrastructure will be remembered in a dark light, while you will forever be surrounded by the illumination of light of goodness.

Peter   January 1st, 2009 5:34 pm ET

As a Pell grant recipient, I am indebted to Sen. Pell. He and my immigrant parents shared the idea that individual success can come from education. It was a blessing to receive much needed college money, having come from a family of four who lived in a tiny one bedroom apartment. Now, my sister and I are quite successful, in part because we were able to finance our education at top California universities. Thank you, Mr. Pell.

Vee   January 1st, 2009 5:32 pm ET

We need more people in office, that really cared about other's like he did.. Instead of the 100's of crooks that are in office now.
May peace be with his family.

G.R.I.T.S - Girl Raised in the South   January 1st, 2009 5:28 pm ET

This wonderful man helped so many young people achieve their goals. God bless his family.

Ken in NC   January 1st, 2009 5:23 pm ET

I never had the chance to know Sen. Claiborne Pell but I owe him a debt of gratitude because his actions that gave life to the Pell Grant Program was the conduit by which my daughter was able to get her college degree. I am so thankful to this man for his work to create this program and hope his family will know that his life touched many children that they will never know.

FreeNLovIt   January 1st, 2009 5:23 pm ET

Thank you. I used it when I was in college. You are a good public servant, believing in future generations to carry this country forward.

happy new year   January 1st, 2009 5:22 pm ET

what a great man he was, bless his family at this sad time in their lives.

Leigh   January 1st, 2009 5:18 pm ET

God Bless Sen. Pell and his family. May he rest in peace. Thank you Sen. Pell – the grant I received helped me complete my education. Without that grant, I don't know what I would have done. My education would have taken about 2-3 more years I would venture to guess and probably another part time job or two. Your legacy will live through many, many more young men and women.

Donna   January 1st, 2009 5:15 pm ET

Thank you Senator Pell. One of your grants helped me get a college education.

Godluvr   January 1st, 2009 5:15 pm ET

May the blessings that he gave to so many continue to be bestowed on his family. Thank you.

Meka   January 1st, 2009 5:10 pm ET

AGAIN, TERM TOO LONG!

12 YEAR TERM LIMIT IN CONGRESS!

SMR   January 1st, 2009 5:07 pm ET

What a great man MR PELL was.He knew that our Country would stay strong with the availability of our people to have access to higher education. His great mind will be sorely missed. Our prayers go out to his family and his many friends. GOD BLESS YOU ALL

Peggy the Unemployed   January 1st, 2009 5:04 pm ET

No matter what else he did, the Pell Grants enabled many people who otherwise might not have gone to college to do so. I was a beneficiary of these grants, and I thank Sen. Pell.

Mel of Alexandria, Virginia   January 1st, 2009 4:56 pm ET

What a great legacy!!! May his family find much comfort and peace in his well-lived life. RIP.

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