Maggie Kuhn

Margaret Eliza "Maggie" Kuhn was an American activist known for founding the Gray Panthers movement, after she was forced to retire from her job at the then-mandatory retirement age of 65. The Gray Panthers became known for advocating nursing home reform and fighting ageism, claiming that "old people and women constitute America's biggest untapped and undervalued human energy source." She dedicated her life to fighting for human rights, social and economic justice, global peace, integration, and an understanding of mental health issues. For decades, she combined her activism with caring for her disabled mother and a brother who suffered from mental illness. Embracing her age and activism, she referred to herself as a "wrinkled radical." By the mid-1970s, Kuhn had achieved national celebrity status, speaking at over 200 engagements a year and appearing on shows like 'The Phil Donahue Show,' 'Today,' and 'The Tonight Show' with Johnny Carson. In 1978, the World Almanac named her one of the 25 most influential women in the United States, while the American Humanist Association named her Humanist of the Year.