Roper, Elmo

Roper, Elmo (Burns, Jr.)

(1900–71) public opinion analyst; born in Hebron, Nebr. A retailer and salesman, he turned to market research, and, founding his own New York firm (1934), pioneered modern public opinion polling techniques. He published Fortune 's public opinion surveys (1935–50), broadcast the first live analysis of election returns (on CBS, 1940), and wrote a syndicated newspaper column, "What People are Thinking." He retired in 1966.