Dr. James C. Dobson, the founder of the conservative Christian ministry Focus on the Family and a towering figure in U.S. evangelical politics for nearly half a century, died Thursday after a brief illness, his namesake family institute said. He was 89. A child psychologist by training, Dobson launched Focus on the Family in 1977, building it into a media and advocacy powerhouse that at its height employed more than 1,000 people and aired daily broadcasts on more than 1,200 radio stations. He left the organization in 2010, going on to establish the Dr. James Dobson Family Institute and to host the nationally syndicated “Family Talk” program, which the institute says now reaches about 500,000 listeners each week through 1,500 outlets. Dobson wrote more than 70 books and leveraged his platform to oppose abortion, pornography and LGBTQ+ rights, becoming a fixture in conservative policy debates. He served on advisory panels to five U.S. presidents, including Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Donald Trump, and was appointed to several federal commissions on family and media issues. Born in 1936 in Shreveport, Louisiana, Dobson is survived by his wife of 64 years, Shirley; their children, Danae and Ryan; daughter-in-law Laura; and two grandchildren.