David Packard (September 7, 1912 – March 26, 1996) was an electrical engineer and co-founder, with William Hewlett, of Hewlett-Packard (1939), serving as president (1947–64), CEO (1964–68), and Chairman of the Board (1964–68, 1972–93). He served as U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense from 1969 to 1971 during the Nixon administration. Packard served as President of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) from 1976 to 1981. He was also chairman of the Board of Regents from 1973 to 1982. Packard was the recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1988 and is noted for many technological innovations and philanthropic endeavors.
PhilanthropyFrom the early 1980s until his death in 1996, Packard dedicated much of his time and money to philanthropic projects. Prompted by his daughters Nancy Packard Burnett and Julie Packard, in 1978 Dave and Lucile Packard created the Monterey Bay Aquarium Foundation. The couple eventually donated $55 million to build the new aquarium, which opened in 1984 with Julie Packard as executive director. In 1987, Packard gave $13 million to create the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation has since provided about 90% of the Institute's operating budget.
In 1964, the couple founded the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. In 1986, they donated $40 million toward building what became the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford University; the new hospital opened in June 1991. Packard and Hewlett made a combined donation of $77 million to Stanford in 1994, for which the university named the David Packard Electrical Engineering Building in his honor. The building is located adjacent to the William Hewlett Teaching Center.
Packard was a member of the American Enterprise Institute's board of trustees. He died on March 26, 1996 at age 83 in Stanford, California, leaving approximately $4 billion (the bulk of his estate) to the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, including large amounts of valuable real property in Los Altos Hills. All three Packard daughters sit on the Foundation's board of trustees. David Woodley Packard, his son, currently serves as president of the Packard Humanities Institute.