The Legacies of Ralph Rogers

Ralph Rogers was an American business executive, industrialist and philanthropist. At the slump of the economy during the presidency of Richard Nixon, Rogers helped save the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS); hence, he was known as the Founding Father of PBS.

Rogers was a successful industrialist. Among the industrial firms that he ran were the Indian Motorcycles and Cummins Diesel Engine. He also served as chairman, president and CEO of Texas Industries from 1973 to 1979. During his time with Texas Industries, the company was named into the Fortune 500 list. Texas Industries has had several business interests although the company’s main focus was on cement production.

Wanting to pool over 200 public TV stations together in one organization, Rogers co-founded the Children’s Television Workshop which eventually brought the award-winning TV series Sesame Street in the mainstream. Following his recovery from rheumatic fever, Rogers helped fund a research that would improve the treatment of the disease.

Rogers became a prominent philanthropist in the Dallas area. He died on November 4, 1997.