George Gallup facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
George Gallup
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George Horace Gallup
November 18, 1901 Jefferson, Iowa, United States
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| Died | July 26, 1984 (aged 82) Tschingel ob Gunten, Bernese Oberland, Switzerland
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| Alma mater | University of Iowa |
| Occupation | Statistician |
| Known for | Gallup poll |
George Horace Gallup (born November 18, 1901 – died July 26, 1984) was an American expert in numbers and surveys. He created the famous Gallup poll. This was a very successful way to measure what people thought about different topics, also known as public opinion.
Life and career
George Gallup was born in Jefferson, Iowa. His father was a dairy farmer. When George was a teenager, he delivered milk. He used his earnings to start a newspaper at his high school. He also played football.
He went to the University of Iowa. There, he played football and was the editor of the student newspaper, The Daily Iowan. He earned three degrees from the university between 1923 and 1928.
After college, he became a journalism professor at Drake University in Iowa. Later, he taught at Northwestern University in Illinois. In 1932, he moved to New York City. He worked for an advertising company, helping them understand what people wanted.
In 1935, George Gallup started his own company. It was called the American Institute of Public Opinion. This company became famous for the "Gallup Poll."
How the Gallup Poll started
In 1932, Gallup helped his mother-in-law, Ola Babcock Miller. She was running for a political job in Iowa. Many people thought she would not win. But Gallup's polling helped her win a big victory. This made him even more interested in politics.
In 1936, Gallup's new company became very well known. He correctly predicted who would win the U.S. Presidential election. He said Franklin Roosevelt would win against Alf Landon. He made this prediction by asking only 50,000 people.
At the same time, a popular magazine called Literary Digest did its own poll. They asked over two million people. Their poll said Landon would win. But Gallup was right! He even predicted what the Literary Digest poll would say. He showed that you don't need to ask millions of people if you choose your sample carefully.
A famous mistake
Twelve years later, in 1948, Gallup's organization made a big mistake. They predicted that Thomas Dewey would win the election. They said he would beat Harry S. Truman by a lot. But Truman actually won the election.
Gallup later realized why they were wrong. He had stopped polling three weeks before Election Day. This meant he missed how Truman gained support at the very end.
Later career
In 1947, Gallup started the Gallup International Association. This was a group of polling organizations from different countries. He also helped create other important groups for market research and public polling.
In 1958, all of Gallup's polling work came together. It became what is now known as The Gallup Organization.
George Gallup passed away in 1984 from a heart attack. He was at his summer home in Switzerland. He is buried in Princeton Cemetery.
See also
- Approval rating
- The Gallup Organization
- Gallup & Robinson
- George H. Gallup House
- Gallup International Association
- Pollsters
- Archibald Crossley
- Elmo Roper
- Mervin Field
- Louis Harris
