Richard E. Neustadt, the noted presidential adviser, scholar and historian who was a founder of Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, has died at the age of 84.

Neustadt died in England. The historian had fallen about a week ago and his health rapidly declined.

"He was a very vigorous man, intellectually sharp as a tack and obviously one of America's pre-eminent presidential historians and adviser to presidents," his close friend and former Labor Secretary Robert Reich Reich said. "He leaves behind not only a significant body of work, but a generation of students who learned about politics and presidency and the excitement of political involvement."

A former adviser to Presidents Truman, Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, Neustadt also wrote many books on the U.S. presidency, including "Presidential Power: The Politics of Leadership," which offered his insight into government decision-making.

"He was one of the first to understand and examine the nature of presidential power," Reich said. "Neustadt saw presidential power as not merely authority that comes with the office, but authority that has to be utilized. He was the first to do that, and that book marked a turning point."

That book, first published in 1960, became a staple of courses in presidential leadership and still is widely used in college classrooms across the country.

President Kennedy held the book and Neustadt in high regard, said Kennedy School Dean Joseph Nye.

Along with four editions of his book on presidential power, Neustadt wrote "Preparing to be President," a compilation of memos he penned for Kennedy, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton at their request to help their transitions into presidency.

He also co-wrote and contributed to several books including "Thinking in Time: The Uses of History for Decision-Makers," with Ernest R. May in 1986. More recently, he wrote the concluding chapter of "Franklin Delano Roosevelt," whose author, British historian Roy Jenkins, died in January while writing the book. The book is set for release this month.

Neustadt was one of the "founding fathers" of the Kennedy School in the 1960s, helping mold the school's curriculum and direction. He taught there for more than two decades and became professor emeritus in 1989.

"He provided students with an understanding of American presidency, greater than any other faculty member could have, from his direct experience and from his books," Nye said.

Neustadt's courses piqued former Vice President Al Gore's interest in government, when he was an undergraduate at Harvard.

Neustadt lived in England most of the year with his wife, Shirley Williams, the leader of the Liberal Democrats in England's House of Lords, Nye said.

He was born on June 26, 1919, in New York City. A Navy veteran, he received a bachelor's degree from the University of California, Berkeley and master's and doctoral degrees from Harvard.

"Professor Neustadt spent a lifetime advancing the public understanding of the American presidency," former President Clinton said in a statement. "I am grateful for the friendship and wise counsel he gave to me."

Reich said he would miss Neustadt's infectious laughter.

"He had this large belly laugh, that instantly put everything in perspective," Reich said. "This was a man with an extraordinary capacity of friendship. He leaves behind a very large number of people who loved and admired him."

Harvard President Lawrence Summers said he first met Neustadt when he was 15 and always valued Neustadt's advice.

"Talking to him and listening to him has had a profound impact on how I tried to work as an official at Washington and at Harvard," said Summers, who was treasury secretary under Clinton. "He was a giant as a scholar and a practitioner of government. I hope there will be more Dick Neustadts in future generations."

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