Developer James W. Rouse  was the founder of Columbia, Maryland, one of the best known and most successful new towns built in the U.S. after World War II. Columbia now has more than 83,000 residents and 2,500 businesses and industries. After retiring from the Rouse Company in 1981, Rouse devoted his time to the Enterprise Foundation, a nonprofit organization that has helped produce over 61,000 units of housing for the poor. Among other accomplishments , he was a member of Eisenhower’s Advisory Committee on Housing in 1953, a member of President Reagan’s Task Force on Private Sector Initiative, and chairman of the National Housing Task Force. Awarded the Presidential Medal Of Freedom 1995. (bio by: gw)  Family links:  Parents:  Willard Goldsmith Rouse (1867 – 1930)  Lydia Agnes Robinson Rouse (1874 – 1930)  Sibling:  Willard Goldsmith Rouse (1910 – 1971)*  James Wilson Rouse (1914 – 1996) *Calculated relationship