David Nolan (libertarian)

David Fraser Nolan founded the Libertarian Party of the United States in 1971. He subsequently served the party in a number of roles including National Chair, editor of the party newsletter, chairman of the By-laws Committee, chairman of the Judicial Committee, and Chairman of the Platform Committee. By 2006 polls showed that 15 percent of American voters identified themselves as libertarian.

Nolan was born in Washington, D. C., and grew up in Maryland. During high school, he read science fiction and became a fan of Robert Heinlein, whose libertarianism shaped his own ideology, as did the works of Ayn Rand. He enrolled at MIT, graduating with a B.S. in political science in 1966.

Nolan was a member of Young Americans for Freedom in 1969 when more than 300 libertarians organized to take control of the organization from conservatives. Many walked out after a physical confrontation sparked by the burning of a draft card in protest to a conservative proposal against draft resistance. While sympathizing with the radicals, Nolan remained with the organization.

President of the United States Richard Nixon's 1971 imposition of wage and price controls was the final straw for Nolan and he initiated the Committee to Form a Libertarian Party. The group organized among a number of libertarians, including The Society for Individual Liberty which had been formed by dissident members of Young Americans for Freedom. They officially founded the Libertarian Party on December 11, 1971. Nolan is also known as the inventor of the Nolan chart which attempts to improve on the simple left versus right political taxonomy by separating the issues of economic freedom and social freedom and presenting them in the format of a plane. He ran unsuccessfully as a Libertarian in Arizona's 8th congressional district in 2006 and received 2% of the vote.

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