Libertarian leader Harry Browne dies

Harry Browne

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One of the pioneers of the modern libertarian political movement who twice ran for the presidency, Harry Browne, died at 72 yesterday.

A long-time WND columnist, Browne authored 12 books, including "You Can Profit From the Coming Devaluation," "Why Government Doesn't Work" and "How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World."

He died at his home in Franklin, Tenn., after a long bout with Lou Gehrig's disease. He is survived by his wife, Pamela, and his daughter, Autumn.

His third book, "You Can Profit from a Monetary Crisis," reached No. 1 on the New York Times best-seller list.

Browne was a frequent guest on radio and TV, both as a political and financial commentator. He was a co-founder of the Downsize DC Foundation and DownsizeDC.org Inc., and a strong advocate of that organization's "Read the Bills Act," which would require Congress to read every word of every bill before voting on it.

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"Harry Browne was a good friend to freedom-loving people everywhere," said Joseph Farah, editor of WND. "He will be greatly missed by all of us who knew him."

Read Harry Browne's WND columns.