Great Living Cincinnatians: Honorees

Oliver M. Gale, wrote headlines for the Boston Herald early in his career. He never envisioned he would create his own headlines for Procter & Gamble, the Eisenhower administration and his adopted hometown of Cincinnati.

After earning a bachelor’s degree from Harvard in 1931, Mr. Gale taught in Chicago and reported for the Boston Herald before returning to Harvard to earn an MBA with distinction in 1937.

The next 20 years saw Mr. Gale dedicate his career to advertising and public relations at Procter & Gamble, working with P&G President Neil McElroy. When Mr. McElroy became President Eisenhower’s secretary of defense, Gale served as his special assistant until 1960.

“Those were the most exciting days of my life,” he said, describing meetings with the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

After serving a White House assignment for the 1960 presidential campaign, Gale turned his energies to assisting landmark Cincinnati institutions.

Mr. Gale devoted his next 40 years to re-energizing organizations such as the Cincinnati Zoo and the Cincinnati Museum of Natural History. He also led the effort to create the Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal.

As trustee and president of the Cincinnati Zoological Society, he helped initiate the development program that transformed the zoo into one of the top two or three in the world.

Mr. Gale also spearheaded the vision for the Museum of Natural History to join forces with the Cincinnati Historical Society at the Museum Center at Union Terminal. With the Museum of Natural History, he served as trustee, secretary, president and chairman. He served 12 years on the Museum Center board.