Remembering David Young
FPE Fellow, Ammon Simon, Remembers Dr. David Young ‘59
David R. Young lived close to power during moments when history was being shaped, yet never allowed power to define him.
While superficial history may remember Young for his role as a co-director of the White House Plumbers, his lasting impact lay elsewhere. After leaving government, he founded Oxford Analytica in 1975, creating a new model for political and economic analysis that served leaders across government, business, and finance. With the launch of the Oxford Analytica Daily Brief in 1984, he translated lessons drawn from observing daily intelligence work at the highest levels of government into the world’s first private sector, open source intelligence network, focused not on advocacy but on understanding what events meant and what might come next.
During his service in the Nixon White House, Young moved quietly through several decisive chapters of modern history. He was the first American official to learn that China was prepared to open relations with the United States, helped uncover a clandestine military spying operation that threatened civilian control of the military, and played a central role in reforming the national security classification system through a landmark executive order.
From his service at the heart of the Nixon White House, Young concluded that political authority is exercised within a spiritual dimension of power—an unseen struggle over truth, self-interest, and the human heart that bears most heavily on those in high places. In later years, he mentored others navigating authority and pressure, insisting that character matters more than accomplishment and determines whether a person can walk away from power with their soul intact.
Young’s lasting legacy is found not only in institutions and ideas, but in a devoted family, enduring friendships, and generations shaped by his quiet counsel.
In 2019, FPE welcomed Dr. Young back to Wheaton College, where he delivered a lecture on the spiritual dimensions of political power. The following year, David Iglesias, Director of the Wheaton Center for Faith, Politics & Economics, conducted an interview with him about his distinguished career.
We invite you to view Dr. Young’s lecture and listen to the interview: