Arthur Delancey "Dan" Ayrault Jr. (January 21, 1935 – February 24, 1990) was an American competitive rower and two-time Olympic gold medalist. While competing at the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, whi ...

Melbourne, Australia Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metropol ...

, Ayrault won a gold medal in coxed pair with Conn Findlay and Kurt Seiffert. During the

1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics ( it, Giochi Olimpici estivi del 1960), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad ( it, Giochi della XVII Olimpiade) and commonly known as Rome 1960 ( it, Roma 1960), were an international multi-sport event held ...

Rome, Italy , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (Romulus and Remus, legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg ...

, he earned a gold medal in coxless four. Ayrault's teammates were Ted Nash,

John Sayre John Sayre (April 1, 1936 – November 9, 2023) was an American competition rower and Olympic champion. Born in Tacoma, Washington, Sayre won a gold medal in ''coxless fours'' at the 1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics ( it, Gio ...

, and Rusty Wailes.

Early life and education

Ayrault was born in Long Beach, California, on January 21, 1935. He graduated from the

Morristown School Morristown may refer to: Places Canada *Morristown, Nova Scotia (disambiguation) United States * Morristown, Arizona *Morristown, Indiana ** Morristown station (Indiana) *Morristown, Minnesota ** Morristown Township, Rice County, Minnesota *Morris ...

(now Morristown-Beard School) in

Morristown, New Jersey Morristown () is a town and the county seat of Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. ...

, in 1952. Morristown-Beard School inducted Ayrault into their Athletics Hall of Fame in 1986. In 1956, he earned his bachelor's degree in philosophy at

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

. During his time at Stanford, Ayrault served as captain of the Cardinals' rowing team. Stanford's Department of Athletics later inducted Aryault into the school's Hall of Fame. He completed his master's degree at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Teaching career

Following his rowing career, Ayrault taught at Lakeside School in Seattle, Washington. After Lakeside School named him as their headmaster in 1969, he served in that role until 1990. In 1971, Ayrault guided the merger of Lakeside School (then an all-boys school) with the all-girls St. Nicholas School. During his 21-year tenure with Lakeside School, Ayrault oversaw funding campaigns to construct Pigott Memorial Library, a field house, and St. Nicholas Hall for Humanities and Arts. Students who attended Lakeside during that period included Bill Gates and Paul Allen, the co-founders of Microsoft Corporation. In 1980, the Washington State Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development awarded Ayrault their Outstanding Educator award.

Military service

Ayrault's father served with the U.S. Navy during World War II. He commanded the , an light cruiser between July 10 and August 14, 1945. Ayrault later received the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

for his service commanding the ship.

Community service

In 1958, Ayrault co-founded the

Lake Washington Rowing Club Lake Washington Rowing Club (LWRC) is an organization in the greater Seattle area to further the sport rowing, sport of rowing. It trains people ranging in experience from beginners to Rowing at the Summer Olympics, Olympic-caliber rowers. The ...

. He then supported the rowing club during the next 32 years. Ayrault served as the president and chairman of the Pacific Science Center between 1980 and 1984. He also served as a member of the board of directors of the Seattle Chamber Music Society and the George Pocock Rowing Foundation. The foundation established their Ayrault Fund in honor of Ayrault. The Ayrault Fund facilitates the foundation's outreach activities to promote the sport of rowing.George Pockock Rowing Foundation
"The Ayrault Fund is named after Dan Ayrault, an original member of the Pocock Foundation Board, Headmaster of the Lakeside School, teacher, coach, and two-time gold-medal winning Olympic oarsman. Targeted donations, investment income, and a portion of principal appreciation of the Ayrault Fund are dedicated to a range of rowing 'outreach' activities."

Ayrault Memorial Lecture Series

In 1994, friends and family members of Ayrault endowed the Ayrault Memorial Lecture Series at Lakeside School in his honor. Notable speakers at the lecture series have included: * Bill Gates * Jacob Lawrence, a painter * Gwendolyn Knight, a painter *

Dale Chihuly Dale Chihuly () (born September 20, 1941) is an American glass artist and entrepreneur. He is best known in the field of blown glass, "moving it into the realm of large-scale sculpture". Early life Dale Patrick Chihuly was born on September 20 ...

, a glass sculptor * Fay Jones, an artist * August Wilson, a playwright *

Sylvia Earle Sylvia Alice Earle ( née Reade; born August 30, 1935) is an American marine biologist, oceanographer, explorer, author, and lecturer. She has been a National Geographic explorer-in-residence since 1998. Earle was the first female chief scien ...

, an oceanographer * Russ Mittermeier, a primatologist and herpetologist * Rudy Crew, an educator and administrator *

Margaret Larson Margaret Larson (née Pelley; born February 24, 1958) is an American broadcast journalist and television presenter. Her most notable position was with NBC News. She worked as a foreign correspondent from 1990 to 1992 and news anchor from 1992 to 1 ...

, a broadcast journalist with and correspondent with Dateline NBC *

Claude Steele Claude Mason Steele (born January 1, 1946) is a social psychologist and emeritus professor at Stanford University, where he is the I. James Quillen Endowed Dean, Emeritus at the Stanford Graduate School of Education, and Lucie Stern Professor i ...

, a social psychologist *

Paul Loeb Paul Loeb (born August 26, 1935) is an American animal trainer and author of animal behavior and training books. Background Paul Loeb was born on August 26, 1935 in the Williamsburg neighbourhood of Brooklyn. Early career Loeb's first pract ...

, an animal trainer and author * Brian Greene, a physicist * Speight Jenkins, general director of the Seattle Opera * David Brooks, an author and columnist for '' The New York Times'' * Po Bronson, a journalist and author

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ayrault, Arthur 1935 births 1990 deaths Stanford Cardinal rowers Olympic gold medalists for the United States in rowing Rowers at the 1956 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 1960 Summer Olympics 20th-century American educators American male rowers Stanford University School of Humanities and Sciences alumni Harvard University alumni Medalists at the 1960 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1956 Summer Olympics Morristown-Beard School alumni Sportspeople from Long Beach, California