Biddle, Livingston, 1918-2002

A member of the Princeton Class of 1940, Livingston Biddle (1818-2002) was an American novelist and storywriter, who wrote about the Main Line in Philadelphia. His four novels were ns2:titled, Main Line, Debut, The Village Beyond, and Sam Bentley's Island; and his nonfiction book was called Our Government and the Arts.

Biddle was part of Philadelphia's famous Biddle family, which included William Biddle (a friend of William Penn), Nicholas Biddle (founder of the Second Bank of the United States), and Francis Biddle (attorney general under President Franklin D. Roosevelt). After graduating from Princeton University, Biddle worked as a reporter for the Philadelphia Bulletin, served as an ambulence driver for the American Field Service in Africa during World War II, and was involved in the creation of the National Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts. From 1963 to 1965, Biddle drafted the legislation for the arts programs; from 1966 to 1967, he served as deputy to the first chairman of the endowment; from 1968 to 1970, he served as professor and the chairman of the arts division at Fordham University in New York City; from 1971 to 1972, he was chairman of the Pennsylvania Balley Company; and in 1977, President Jimmy Carter named him chairman of the National Endowment of the Arts.