George Kirstein; Publisher of Liberal Weekly

George G. Kirstein, publisher of The Nation magazine from 1955 to 1965, a period critical to the magazine’s survival, has died of a heart attack at the age of 76.

Kirstein, who was stricken Thursday during a walk, took over the liberal weekly as publisher and principal owner during a period of financial hard times. Editors credited him with making the magazine economically healthier while protecting its liberal independence.

Kirstein, who wrote some articles for the magazine, also was author of “Learning to Sail the Hard Way,” “The Rich: Are They Different?” and “Better Giving,” a book about raising money for charity.

Kirstein attended Harvard and in 1932 went to Hollywood, where he worked as an assistant director at RKO. His business career began as an executive at Bloomingdale’s from 1938 to 1941. During World War II, he was an executive on defense-related boards and served in the Navy from 1943 to 1945.

After the war, he worked as a management consultant.