David Hackett

David Low Hackett was an American official. Born in Dedham, Massachusetts, President John F. Kennedy appointed Hackett head of the President's Committee on Juvenile Delinquency and Youth Crime. Later, Hackett headed a study group for the establishment of a domestic peace corps group which later became AmeriCorps Vista. A friend of Robert F. Kennedy, Hackett helped with Kennedy's presidential campaign in 1968. He served in the United States Army, in Europe, during World War II, and then went to McGill University. Hackett lived in Bethesda, Maryland. He was the inspiration behind the character of Phineas in A Separate Peace by John Knowles. "It's clear that Phineas' house was 848 High Street," across from the Dedham Common.