Todd Alan Gitlin (1943-2022) was an influential American sociologist, political activist, author, and cultural commentator. He is best known for his leadership in the 1960s New Left movement, serving as the third president of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) from 1963 to 1964. Born in the Bronx, New York, Gitlin earned his A.B. in Mathematics from Harvard University in 1963 and an M.A. in Political Science from the University of Michigan in 1964. During his early career, he was a key organizer of major anti-Vietnam War protests and campus mobilizations that defined the era's student activism. His early experiences in radical politics shaped his lifelong engagement with social movements, though he later became a prominent critic of extreme leftism, distancing himself from factions like the Weather Underground and criticizing their tactics in works such as his seminal book 'The Sixties: Years of Hope, Days of Rage' (1987).

Transitioning to academia, Gitlin earned a PhD in sociology from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1970. He held professorships at several prestigious institutions, including the University of California, Berkeley (Professor of Sociology, 1970-1994), New York University (Professor of Culture and Communication, 1994-2002), and Columbia University (Professor of Journalism and Sociology, 2002-2022), where he also chaired the Ph.D. program in Communications. He retired from Columbia shortly before his death. His prolific writing career spanned sixteen books, including 'Inside Prime Time' (1987) and 'Media Unlimited: The Twilight of Mass Culture' (2002), and countless articles for outlets like The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, and The Nation. His work explored themes of media influence, identity politics, and progressive ideology. In 'The Twilight of Common Dreams: Why America Is at an End to Self-Belief' (1995), he controversially argued against the fragmentation of the left by identity-based movements, advocating for a unified civic nationalism. Gitlin was also a recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship.

Gitlin's intellectual legacy bridged activism and scholarship, profoundly influencing discussions on media, culture, and politics. He remained active in commentary and writing until his death from renal failure on February 5, 2022, at age 79.