David Nolan (Libertarian Party)
David Fraser Nolan founded the
Libertarian Party 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.
Nolan was born in
Washington, D.C. and spent his earliest years growing up in Maryland. During high school, he read much science fiction and came upon the works of
Robert Heinlein, an author whose libertarianism shaped his own ideology, as did the works of
Ayn Rand. He continued further to read the works of Ayn Rand. He enrolled at
MIT, originally declaring a major in
architecture but ended up graduating with an
B.S. in political science in 1966.
Nolan is also known as the inventor of the
Nolan chart which purports to render obsolete the simple left vs. right political taxonomy by separating the issues of economic freedom and social freedom.
He is running as a Libertarian in
Arizona's 8th congressional district in
2006.