Another giant of science, history and scholarship has left our world. Dennis T. Avery died June 21 at age 83. With the passing of this "gifted scholar and communicator, the world became a less interesting place," former Heartland Institute president and CEO Joe Bast commented.
Avery's career was indeed remarkable for its breadth and depth. Born in 1936 in Lansing, Michigan, he earned degrees in journalism and economics from Michigan State University and the University of Wisconsin, then worked for a variety of federal government agencies before retiring in 1989 as Senior Agricultural Analyst for the U.S. State Department. Among his many other awards and honors, he received the National Intelligence Medal of Achievement in 1983.