David Leon Chandler (May 26, 1937 – January 23, 1994) was an American journalist who wrote several historical and biographical books during the 1970s and 1980s. He was associated with early coverage of the

Kennedy Assassination John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, was assassinated while riding in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963. Kennedy was in the vehicle with his wife Jacqueline, Texas gove ...

and was mentioned in the

Warren Commission The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy, known unofficially as the Warren Commission, was established by President of the United States, President Lyndon B. Johnson through on November 29, 1963, to investigate the A ...

report.

Biography

Chandler was born in

Covington, Kentucky Covington is a list of cities in Kentucky, home rule-class city in Kenton County, Kentucky, United States. It is located at the confluence of the Ohio River, Ohio and Licking River (Kentucky), Licking rivers, across from Cincinnati to the north ...

. Following service in the merchant marine and

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

, Chandler worked three years from 1959 for '' The News-Herald'' in

Panama City, Florida Panama City is a city in and the county seat of Bay County, Florida, United States. Located along U.S. Route 98 in Florida, U.S. Highway 98 (US 98), it is the largest city between Tallahassee, Florida, Tallahassee and Pensacola, Florida, Pe ...

. Eventually he led a team whose investigation and coverage of corruption won the

1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

Pulitzer Prize for Public Service The Pulitzer Prize for Public Service is one of the fourteen American Pulitzer Prizes annually awarded for journalism. It recognizes a distinguished example of meritorious public service by a newspaper or news site through the use of its journali ...

for the newspaper, citing its "three-year campaign against entrenched power and corruption, with resultant reforms in Panama City and Bay County.""The 1962 Pulitzer Prize Winner in Public Service"
The Pulitzer Prizes. Retrieved 2013-11-27. He worked for New Orleans' afternoon newspaper '' The States-Item'' 1962–1964 and then on contract with ''

Life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...

'' magazine, initially regarding the Kennedy assassination. Chandler ran for Governor of Louisiana in the 1971 Democratic Party primary "hoping to prove that a candidate could win the governorship without taking any campaign contributions"—and finished twelfth with 0.62% of the vote. From 1972 he was a free-lance writer of magazine articles and books. Chandler's books include ''Brothers in Blood'' (1975), a history of the

Cosa Nostra The Sicilian Mafia or Cosa Nostra (, ; "our thing"), also referred to as simply Mafia, is a criminal society and criminal organization originating on the island of Sicily and dates back to the mid-19th century. Emerging as a form of local protect ...

; ''The Natural Superiority of Southern Politicians'', (1977); '' 100 Tons of Gold'' about a mysterious gold horde in New Mexico; ''Henry Flagler: The Astonishing Life and Times of the Visionary Robber Baron Who Founded Florida'' (1986); ''The Binghams of Louisville'' (1988), a controversial biography of

Robert Worth Bingham Robert Worth Bingham (November 8, 1871 – December 18, 1937) was an American politician, judge, newspaper publisher and the United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom from 1933 to 1937. Background Bingham attended the University of North Ca ...

(who married Flagler's widow a year before her death); and ''The Jefferson Conspiracies'' (1994), about the death of

Meriwether Lewis Meriwether Lewis (August 18, 1774 – October 11, 1809) was an American explorer, soldier, politician, and public administrator, best known for his role as the leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery, with ...

(released several months after Chandler's death). He also ghost-wrote the autobiography of his friend, Lafayette Lawyer J. Minos Simon. Chandler lived in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

during the late 1960s and 1970s where he resided in an apartment in a building owned by

Clay Shaw Clay LaVergne Shaw (March 17, 1913 – August 15, 1974) was an American businessman, military officer, and part-time contact of the Domestic Contact Service (DCS) of the CIA. Shaw is best known for being the only person brought to trial for in ...

. He died in Denver at age 56. He was survived by his third wife Mary Voelz Chandler and by four children from previous marriages.

Books

* ''The Dragon Variation: A History of the Mafia, Cosa Nostra, and Parent Societies from the Spanish Inquisition to the Present'' (Dutton, 1974), * ''Brothers in Blood: The Rise of Criminal Brotherhoods'' (Dutton, 1975); UK edition, ''The Criminal Brotherheads'' (Constable, 1976) * ''The Natural Superiority of Southern Politicians: A Revisionist History'' (Doubleday, 1977) * '' 100 Tons of Gold'' (Doubleday, 1978) * ''Dialing for Data: A Consumer's How-to Handbook on Computer Communications'' (Random House, 1984) * ''

Henry Flagler Henry Morrison Flagler (January 2, 1830 – May 20, 1913) was an American industrialist and a founder of Standard Oil, which was first based in Ohio. He was also a key figure in the development of the Atlantic coast of Florida and founder ...

: The Astonishing Life and Times of the Visionary Robber Baron Who Founded Florida'' (Macmillan, 1986) * ''The Binghams of Louisville: The Dark History Behind One of America's Great Fortunes'' (Crown, 1987), by David Leon Chandler with Mary Voelz Chandler * ''Law in the Cajun Nation'' (Lafayette, LA: Prescott Press, 1993), J. Minos Simon with Chandler * ''The Jefferson Conspiracies: A President's Role in the Assassination of

'' (William Morrow & Company, 1994)

References

External links

*
"Mary Voelz Chandler"
at LC Authorities, with 2 records
"An interview about Denver Architecture: Mary Voelz Chandler wrote the book on it"
''The Denver Post'', August 2, 2013 {{DEFAULTSORT:Chandler, David Leon 1994 deaths American newspaper reporters and correspondents American male non-fiction writers 1937 births 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American male writers