Lawrence Ferlinghetti, the last great poet of the Beat Generation who helped create America's counter-culture movement in the 1950s, dies from lung disease a month shy of his 102nd birthday Lawrence Ferlinghetti, who helped to establish the counter-culture movement of 1950s America through his City Lights bookshop and publishers, has died Ferlinghetti was 101 Ferlinghetti, a San Francisco institution, died Monday at his home, his son Lorenzo Ferlinghetti said A month shy of his 102nd birthday, Ferlinghetti died 'in his own room,' holding the hands of his son and his son's girlfriend, 'as he took his last breath' The cause of death was lung disease