Shaky Foundation

DAVID Packard died on March 26, 1996, after a long and extraordinarily productive life. Engineer, entrepreneur, public servant, patriot, Packard was one of the exemplary citizens of the American Century. His career was a story of innovation and enterprise, a triumph of the free market. What is happening to his foundation is a story of money diverted to trendy liberal causes, a triumph of America’s philanthropic establishment.

Dave Packard graduated from Stanford in 1934, taking a degree in electrical engineering. Soon, he and a classmate, Bill Hewlett, opened for business in the first manufacturing site for their fledgling enterprise, Packard’s one-car garage. The garage had everything they needed—a drill press, a soldering iron, and room to dream and tinker. It is now a California Historical Landmark, the birthplace of what came to be known as Silicon Valley.

About the Author

Neal B. Freeman

Neal B. Freeman, businessman and journalist, was a director of National Review Inc. for 38 years.

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DAVID Packard died on March 26, 1996, after a long and extraordinarily productive life. Engineer, entrepreneur, public servant, patriot, Packard was one of the exemplary citizens of the American Century. His career was a story of innovation and enterprise, a triumph of the free market. What is happening to his foundation is a story of money diverted to trendy liberal causes, a triumph of America’s philanthropic establishment.

Dave Packard graduated from Stanford in 1934, taking a degree in electrical engineering. Soon, he and a classmate, Bill Hewlett, opened for business in the first manufacturing site for their fledgling enterprise, Packard’s one-car garage. The garage had everything they needed—a drill press, a soldering iron, and room to dream and tinker. It is now a California Historical Landmark, the birthplace of what came to be known as Silicon Valley.