John Ladd

LADD, JOHN, 93, of Providence and Lancaster, N.H., died at home on February 6. A Professor of Philosophy at Brown University for over fifty years, he was the founder and the first chair of the Program in Biomedical Ethics. Ladd was born in Middletown, Conn., in 1917, the son of Ailsie Taylor and William Palmer Ladd, an Episcopalian minister. He earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees from Harvard University, where he participated in the Comparative Values in Five Cultures project. His interviews with Navajo elders became the basis of his first book, The Structure of a Moral Code. During World War II, Ladd saw active duty on minesweepers and submarines, retiring from the Naval Reserve with the rank of Lieutenant Commander. Ladd was the author of numerous scholarly articles on political and legal philosophy, Kantian ethics, computer ethics, and biomedical ethics. He a strong supporter of student protests during the Vietnam War and was a dedicated advocate of diversity at Brown. After his retirement in 1987, he served as Acting Director of Brown's new Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America. Ladd is survived by his wife of 46 years, Rosalind Ekman Ladd, and three daughters: Molly Ladd-Taylor (Paul Clifford), Sarah Ladd Bennett (Christopher Wheeler), Deborah Ladd LaBonar (Gregory LaBonar), and four grandchildren: Disa, Julian, Timothy, and Zachary. His first wife, Hylda Higginson, predeceased him. Funeral and burial will be in Lancaster, N.H. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Weeks Memorial Library in Lancaster, N.H. 03584.