John Oakes; Former Editor of New York Times Editorial Page

John Oakes, the editorial page editor of the New York Times who developed the modern op-ed page format by inviting opinion pieces from people outside the newsroom, died Thursday of complications from a stroke. He was 87.

Oakes, who guided the editorial page for 15 years during the Vietnam War and the Watergate era, died at Mt. Sinai Medical Center, said his daughter, Andra.

Last month, Oakes was honored with the George Polk career award, which will be presented posthumously at an April 18 ceremony, his daughter said.

Under his guidance, the Times was one of the first papers to take an early and consistent stand against the Vietnam War. Oakes brought in the first woman and the first black editorial writers to the Times, former Times editorial board member Herbert Mitgang said in nominating Oakes for the career Polk award. In 1965, he received his first Polk award for his work at the Times.

Oakes was born April 23, 1913, in Elkins Park, Pa. A Princeton graduate and Rhodes Scholar, he began his journalism career as a reporter for the Trenton (N.J.) State Gazette and the Trenton Times in 1936-37.

A year later, he joined the Washington Post and covered President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s 1940 reelection campaign. He left the paper to join the Army during World War II.

He joined the Times in 1946 under Publisher Arthur Hays Sulzberger, and spent the rest of his career at the paper. Oakes began writing a column on the environment in 1951, putting him out front on conservation issues. He was moved to the editorial board in 1949, and became its editor in 1961.

After leaving his editorial board post in the mid-1960s, Oakes stayed with the paper as a contributing columnist from 1977 to 1990.

Oakes is survived by his wife, Margery Hartman Oakes; two other daughters, Alison and Cynthia; a son, John; and seven grandchildren.