The Grand Junction Public Library will feature a program about Dr. George Gallup and the Gallup House in Jefferson on Sunday, April 12, at 2 pm in the Max F. Wetrich Community Room.
Carol Schultz of Jefferson will present the program. Schultz is a George Gallup researcher and tour director of the Gallup House at 703 S. Chestnut St in Jefferson.
Gallup House is the boyhood home of Jefferson native George Gallup, the father of public opinion polling. The house was built in a unique octagonal style in the early 1900s. The home has been preserved and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Gallup House is available for tours on Saturdays from 9 am to noon, April to October. It will also be open during the Bell Tower Festival from 1 to 4 pm Saturday, June 13.
George Gallup was born in Jefferson in 1901 and graduated from Jefferson High School. He continued his education at the University of Iowa in journalism, where he began to measure reader interest in magazine and newspaper features.
After earning advanced degrees, he went on to teach at the University of Iowa, Drake University and Northwestern University. In 1932, he was hired as head of the market and copy research departments at Young and Rubicam, the largest advertising agency in the country. Gallup founded the American Institute of Public Opinion in Princeton, New Jersey, in 1935. This was the genesis for the Gallup Poll, which became known worldwide for its polling expertise.
Gallup continued to work in polling with the company he founded for the next 50 years. He served as chairman of the board of the Gallup Organization and chairman emeritus of Gallup & Robinson until his death in 1984. The Gallup presentation is open to the public at no charge. The library is located at 106 Main St. East in Grand Junction.
