The Aspen Institute is a U.S. nonprofit cultural organization founded in 1950 dedicated to "fostering enlightened leadership and open-minded dialogue." The institute is headquartered in Washington, D.C. and has campuses in Aspen, Colorado (its original home), New York City, Santa Barbara, California, and Queenstown, Maryland. The institute holds regular seminars, policy programs, conferences and leadership development initiatives, with the goal of promoting nonpartisan inquiry and "an appreciation for timeless values." ... 1950 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Washington, D.C. is the capital city of the United States of America. ... View south along Galena Street in downtown Aspen. ... New York City, officially named the City of New York, is the most populous city in the United States, and the most densely populated major city in North America. ... Stearns Wharf is the extension into the sea of State Street, Santa Barbara Santa Barbara is a city in California, United States. ... Queenstown is a town located in Queen Annes County, Maryland. ...

The Aspen Institute is largely funded by foundations such as the Carnegie Corporation, The Rockefeller Brothers Fund and the Ford Foundation, by seminar fees, and by individual donations. Its board of trustees include many wealthy and powerful individuals who also contribute generously to its support.

History

The Institute was largely the creation of Walter Paepcke, a Chicago businessman who had become inspired by the Great Books program of Mortimer Adler at the University of Chicago. In 1945, Paepcke visited the decaying former mining town of Aspen in the Roaring Fork Valley and was inspired by its natural beauty, envisioning that it could be transformed into a place where artists, leaders, thinkers, musicians from all over the world could gather in a place secluded from their daily lives. In 1949, in order to help fulfill his vision, Paepcke organized a 20-day international celebration for the 200th birthday of German poet and philosopher Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. The celebration attracted over 2,000 attendees, including many notable international intellectual and artistic figures of the day, including Albert Schweitzer, Jose Ortega y Gasset, Thornton Wilder, and Arthur Rubinstein. Walter Paepcke (1896–1960) was a U.S. industrialist and philanthropist prominent in the middle 20th century. ... Chicago (officially named the City of Chicago) is the third largest city in the United States (after New York City and Los Angeles), with an official population of 2,896,016, as of the 2000 census. ... Great Books refers to a curriculum and a book list that came about as the result of a discussion among American academics and educators, starting in the 1920s and 1930s and begun by Prof. ... Mortimer Adler around 1963 Mortimer Jerome Adler (December 28, 1902 – June 28, 2001) was an American philosopher and author. ... The University of Chicago is a private co-educational university located in Chicago, Illinois. ... 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Roaring Fork River, a tributary of the Colorado, is shown highlighted on a map of the western United States The Roaring Fork River is a tributary of the Colorado River, approximately 70 mi (113 km) long, in west central Colorado in the United States. ... 1949 (MCMXLIX) is a common year starting on Saturday. ... Poets are authors of poems, or of other forms of poetry such as dramatic verse. ... A philosopher is a person devoted to studying and producing results in philosophy. ... Johann Wolfgang von Goethe â–¶(?) (IPA: ) (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German novelist, dramatist, poet, humanist, scientist, philosopher, and for ten years chief minister of state at Weimar. ... Albert Schweitzer Albert Schweitzer, Etching by Arthur William Heintzelman Albert Schweitzer, OM, (January 14, 1875 – September 4, 1965) was a German theologian, musician, philosopher, and physician. ... José Ortega y Gasset José Ortega y Gasset (May 9, 1883 - October 18, 1955) was a Spanish philosopher. ... Thornton Wilder (April 17, 1897 – December 7, 1975) was an American novelist and playwright. ... Arthur Rubinstein photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1937 Arthur Rubinstein (January 28, 1887 – December 20, 1982) was a famous Polish-American pianist, best known for his performances of Chopin and his championing of Spanish music. ...

The following year, in 1950, Paepcke founded the Aspen Institute, and later the Aspen Music Festival and the Aspen International Design Competition. In 1951, the Institute sponsored a national photography conference attended by many of the nation's most noted photographers, including Ansel Adams, Dorothea Lange, Ben Shahn and Berenice Abbott. During the 1960s and 1970s, the Institute further expanded with the addition of new organizations, programs, and conferences, including the Aspen Center for Physics, the Aspen Strategy Group and other programs that concentrated on education, communications, justice, Asian thought, science, technology, the environment, and international affairs. 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ... Lens and mounting of a large format camera Wikibooks has more about this subject: Photography Photography is the process of making pictures by means of the action of light. ... The Tetons - Snake River (1942) by Ansel Adams Ansel Easton Adams (February 20, 1902 – April 22, 1984) was an American photographer born in San Francisco. ... Dorothea Lange in 1936 Dorothea Lange (May 26, 1895 – October 11, 1965) was an influential documentary photographer. ... Sacco & Vanzetti mosaic by Ben Shahn, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY Ben Shahn (September 12, 1898 - March 14, 1969) was a Lithuanian-born American artist and teacher. ... Berenice Abbott (July 17, 1898 – December 9, 1991) was an American photographer best known for her black-and-white photography of the streetlife and architecture of New York City during the 1930s. ... The 1960s in its most obvious sense refers to the decade between 1960 and 1969, but the expression has taken on a wider meaning over the past twenty years. ... The 1970s in its most obvious sense refers to the decade between 1970 and 1979. ... Aspen Strategy Group is a bipartisan assortment of policy mavens, focused on nuclear risks at its annual meeting the first week of August 2004. ... World map showing Asia (geographically) Asia is the central and eastern part of Eurasia, and the worlds largest continent. ...

In 1979, through a donation by Corning Glass industrialist and philanthropist Arthur A. Houghton, Jr. the Institute acquired an additional 1,000 acre (4 km²) campus on the eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland, known today as the Wye River Conference Centers. This page refers to the year 1979. ... Corning Glass Works (NYSE: GLW) is a U.S. manufacturer of glass, ceramics and related materials, primarily for technical and scientific applications. ... Chesapeake Bay - Landsat photo The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. ... State nickname: Old Line State; Free State Official languages None Capital Annapolis Largest city Baltimore Governor Robert L. Ehrlich (R) Senators Paul Sarbanes (D) Barbara Mikulski (D) Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 42nd 32,160 km² 21 Population  - Total (2000)  - Density Ranked 19th 5,296,486 165/km² Admission into Union...

External link

• Aspen Institute official site
• Aspen Meadows, Home of the Aspen Institute
• The Aspen Institute Educates the Sharks of Business, Voltaire Network, Sept. 2, 2004