Max Yasgur sold his farm in 1971 and retired to Florida, where he died in 1973.
15 Facts About Max Yasgur
2.
Max Yasgur was raised with his brother Isidore on the family's farm and attended New York University, studying real estate law.
3.
At the time of the festival in 1969, Max Yasgur was married to Miriam Gertrude Miller Max Yasgur and had a son, Sam and daughter, Lois.
4.
Max Yasgur's son was an assistant district attorney in New York City at the time.
5.
In later years, it was revealed that Max Yasgur was in fact a conservative Republican who supported the Vietnam War.
6.
Woodstock promoter Michael Lang, who considered Max Yasgur to be his "hero," stated that Max Yasgur was "the antithesis" of what the Woodstock festival stood for.
7.
Max Yasgur was 49 at the time of the festival and had a heart condition.
8.
Max Yasgur quickly established a rapport with the concert-goers, providing food at cost or for free.
9.
Max Yasgur believed strongly in freedom of expression, and was angered by the hostility of some townspeople toward "anti-war hippies".
10.
Max Yasgur's speech was met with a massive cheer from the audience.
11.
Several of the performers at the festival had arranged to send thank you gifts, flowers, and letters to Max Yasgur for allowing use of the farm.
12.
Many of Max Yasgur's neighbors turned against him after the festival, and he was no longer welcome at the town general store, but he never regretted his decision to allow the concert on his farm.
13.
Max Yasgur refused to rent out his farm for a 1970 revival of the festival, saying, "As far as I know, I'm going back to running a dairy farm".
14.
In 1971, Max Yasgur sold the 600-acre farm, and moved to Marathon, Florida, where, a year and a half later, he died of a heart attack at the age of 53.
15.
Max Yasgur was given a full-page obituary in Rolling Stone magazine, one of the few non-musicians to have received such an honor.