President Ronald Reagan Alma mater Stanford University Political party Republican | Succeeded by Melvin F. Sembler Preceded by Robert D. Nesen Name Bill Lane | |
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Born November 7, 1919
Des Moines, Iowa ( 1919-11-07 ) Died July 31, 2010(2010-07-31) (aged 90) | ||
Laurence William "Bill" Lane, Jr. (November 7, 1919 – July 31, 2010) was an American magazine publisher, diplomat, and philanthropist.
Life
Lane was born November 7, 1919, to Laurence William Lane (1890 – February 20, 1967) and Ruth Bell. His father was known as "Larry", so he was generally called "Bill".
In 1928, the family moved from Des Moines, Iowa where Larry Lane was advertising director for the Meredith Corporation (publisher of Better Homes and Gardens magazine) to California. The Lanes owned and published Sunset Magazine.
Bill Lane attended Stanford University and graduated in 1942. He was a member of the Stanford Chaparral. He married Donna Jean Gimbel in 1955.
As their father phased himself out of the business, Bill took over the magazine publishing and brother Melvin (1922–2007) managed the book business.
Lane was the first mayor and one of the founders of Portola Valley, California in 1964. From 1975 to 1976, he served as US Ambassador-at-large and lived in Japan. From 1985 to 1989, he was appointed US Ambassador to Australia and Nauru. Ronald Reagan knew Lane from their membership in the Los Rancheros Vistadores horseback riding club. The Lane family donated to the reconstruction of the Stanford Memorial Church and other historic buildings after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.
The Lane publishing business was sold to Time Warner in 1990. In March 1993 he was appointed an honorary officer of the Order of Australia for service to Australian-American relations.
The Lanes sponsored an internship program at the National Museum of Natural History of the Smithsonian Institution. In 2005 a donation to Stanford named the Center for the Study of the North American West after the family. Also in 2005, Lane and his wife (who had graduated from Northwestern University in 1952), funded the Jean Gimbel Lane Prize in Piano Performance.
Bill Lane died on July 31, 2010. An additional $5 million endowment to Northwestern was announced in 2015.