Claiborne Pell (November 22, 1918 – January 1, 2009) was a former United States Senator from Rhode Island, serving six terms from 1961 to 1997, and was best known as the sponsor of the Pell Grant, which provides financial aid funding to U.S. college students. A Democrat, he was that state’s longest serving senator.
Death of Claiborne Pell
Claiborne Pell suffered from Parkinson’s Disease. Pell died on January 1, 2009. He was 90 years old
Pell attended St. George’s School in Newport, Rhode Island, then received a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Princeton University in 1940, and a Master of Arts degree from Columbia University in 1946. While in Princeton, he was a member of Colonial Club.
Pell was married to the former Nuala O’Donnell, a descendant of the Hartford family and, as such, one of the heirs to the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company fortune