Is The REAL Earth Day Founder Actually a Man from IOWA?Will the REAL Earth Day founder please stand up?
Shortly after Blog for Iowa published a story about the death of former Wisconsin Governor and U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson, we heard from reader Allan Anderson:
Sorry, Blog for Iowa, you got it wrong when you stated that Gaylord Nelson founded Earth Day. While he was a great environmentalist, it was John McConnell [of Davis City, Iowa] who originated Earth Day. For documentation of this, do a Google search. Type in: John McConnell Earth Day. So many people, like you, were misled by a belief that "got legs of its own." Gaylord … never said that he, in his own words, was the founder of Earth Day, or that he originated the term 'Earth Day.'
John McConnell was the FIRST to: (1) originate Earth Day; (2) choose the Day to take place on the Vernal Equinox in March; (3) get it into a major cities' proclamation; (4) write a 'Magna Charta' stating the purpose of Earth Day; (5) get it accepted by the U.N.; (6) choose the Earth Day flag; and (7) get presidential recognition for originating Earth Day (from four presidents prior to President Clinton’s giving Gaylord Nelson an award).
Hey, Allan, thanks for the heads up! We stand corrected.
I took Allan’s advice and did a Google search. Read more about Iowa’s John McConnell here, here, and here. That ought to teach me to never EVER trust the mainstream media. I thought I'd already learned that lesson. Eee-gads!
Mr. McConnell, we salute you!
Iowa State Fair: JOIN ICAN AS A VOLUNTEER IN THE “IOWANS FOR SUSTAINABLE FAMILY FARMS” BOOTH 
