Robert W. Welch Jr.

Bob Welch
Born
Robert Henry Winborne Welch Jr.

(1899-12-01)December 1, 1899
Chowan County, North Carolina, U.S.
DiedJanuary 6, 1985(1985-01-06) (aged 85)
Winchester, Massachusetts, U.S.
EducationUniversity of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (BA)
United States Naval Academy
Harvard University
Political partyRepublican
SpouseMarian Probert
Children2

Robert Henry Winborne Welch Jr. (December 1, 1899 – January 6, 1985) was an American businessman, political organizer, and conspiracy theorist.[1] He was wealthy following his retirement from the candy business and used his wealth to sponsor anti-communist causes. He co-founded the John Birch Society (JBS), an American right-wing political advocacy group,[2] in 1958 and tightly controlled it until his death. He was highly controversial and criticized by liberals, as well as some conservatives, including William F. Buckley Jr. only after being an early donor to Buckley's National Review in the 1950s.

  1. ^ Miller 2021, p. 7-8.
  2. ^ Webster's guide to American history: a chronological, geographical, and biographical survey and compendium. Springfield, Mass., U.S.A.: G. & C. Merriam Co. 1971. p. 576. ISBN 9780877790815. The society is semisecret, has been organized by Robert H.W. Welch, Jr. in 1958, and is a right-wing organization dedicated to fighting communism, which it claims is more of a danger to the U.S. from within than from without the country.