Edward Zigler, ‘father of Head Start,’ dies in Connecticut

Edward Zigler, a Yale University professor who helped create the Head Start program for disadvantaged preschoolers in the 1960s, has died at his Connecticut home. He was 88 years old.

Yale called Zigler a pioneer in the application of developmental psychology to social policy. After President Lyndon Johnson declared a war on poverty, Zigler and others founded the child development program that has served more than 32 million children since 1965.