Donald Smith Cohan (February 24, 1930 in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

– 20 October 2018) was one of the leading yachtsmen in the U.S. He was the first

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

to compete at the highest levels of world yachting competitions and at the time of his active career, the only Jew to win an

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

medal in yachting. He won a bronze medal at the 1972 Munich Olympics. Years later, he twice defeated

Hodgkin's disease Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is a type of lymphoma in which cancer originates from a specific type of white blood cell called lymphocytes, where multinucleated Reed–Sternberg cells (RS cells) are present in the lymph nodes. The condition was named a ...

. He came back to win a U.S. sailing championship at the age of 72.

Biography

Cohan graduated from

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zepha ...

(''cum laude''; 1951). There, he was a member of

Beta Theta Pi Beta Theta Pi (), commonly known as Beta, is a North American social Fraternities and sororities in North America, fraternity that was founded in 1839 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. One of North America's oldest fraternities, , it consist ...

. He then attended

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

. He practiced as an attorney, before going into business in real estate. He became President of Donesco Company, a

real estate development Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw Real Estate, land and the sale of developed land or parce ...

firm.

Sailing

Cohan began sailing in 1967 at age 37. He was on the U.S. team at the World Championships in 1969, 1970, and 1971. Cohan then won the 1972 Olympic trials, becoming the first Jew to be a member of the U.S. Olympic Team in sailing. In the 1972 Munich Summer Olympics, he was set to compete when the Munich Massacre resulted in the killing by terrorists of 11 Israeli athletes. All Jewish athletes were warned to leave, and two Israelis slated to compete in sailing were instructed to return home immediately. They handed Cohan their satin, blue and white triangular flag, emblazoned with "Sports Federation of Israel. XXth Olympiad Munich 1972," and said: "You're representing us now. Go win a medal for us." Competing at the age of 42, he came from far back on the final day and earned a bronze medal as

helmsman A helmsman or helm (sometimes driver or steersman) is a person who steering, steers a ship, sailboat, submarine, other type of maritime vessel, airship, or spacecraft. The rank and seniority of the helmsman may vary: on small vessels such as fis ...

in the mixed three-person Dragon class, named ''Caprice''. He earned the medal within just five years from when he began sailing, and was the first Jew to win an Olympic medal in sailing. Cohan wrote: "The last act of xpletives deleted .S. Olympic Committee head and International Olympic Committee president

Avery Brundage Avery Brundage (; September 28, 1887 – May 8, 1975) was the fifth president of the International Olympic Committee, serving from 1952 to 1972, the only American and first non-European to attain that position. Brundage is remembered as a z ...

was to hang an Olympic medal around my neck." Brundage had been a

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

sympathizer. He was notorious, among other things, for having pressured to have the only two Jews on the U.S. track team at the

1936 Berlin Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XI Olympiad () and officially branded as Berlin 1936, were an international multi-sport event held from 1 to 16 August 1936 in Berlin, then capital of Nazi Germany. Berlin won the bid to ...

, sprinters

Marty Glickman Martin Irving Glickman (August 14, 1917 – January 3, 2001) was an American radio announcer who was famous for his broadcasts of the New York Knicks basketball games and the football games of the New York Giants and the New York Jets. Glickman ...

and

Sam Stoller Sam Stoller (August 8, 1915 – May 29, 1985) was an American athlete who specialized in sprinting and long jumping. He tied the world record in the 60-yard dash in 1936. Stoller is best known for his exclusion from the American 4 × ...

, removed at the very last moment on the morning of their 400-meter relay race, so as not to embarrass Hitler and the Nazis with a Jewish victory. Brundage later publicly praised the Nazi regime at a

Madison Square Madison Square is a public square formed by the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Broadway at 23rd Street in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The square was named for Founding Father James Madison, the fourth president of the United St ...

rally. Cohan has also been U.S. champion, European champion, German champion, and Australian champion. In 1984, he put his legal skills to good use. He charged

Robbie Haines Robert Bentley Haines, Jr. (born March 27, 1954) is an American sailor and Olympic champion. Born in San Diego, California, he has won seven world championships in 4 different class of boats. He was associate producer and sailing team manager f ...

, one of the competitors in the Olympic yachting

Soling The Soling is an Keelboat, open keelboat that holds the World Sailing "International class" status. The class was used from the Sailing at the 1972 Summer Olympics, 1972 Olympics until the Sailing at the 2000 Summer Olympics, 2000 Olympics as "Sa ...

trials, with having left too early (or "barged") at the start of the race, in

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

. Ed Baird, a fellow competitor, said that Cohan "destroyed Haines in the protest room", but that "We're all still pretty close". Haines was disqualified for the race. In the end, however, Haines qualified for the 1984 Olympics, where he won a gold medal.

Hodgkin's disease

Nineteen years after winning his Olympic medal, in 1991, he was diagnosed with

of the

lymph gland A lymph node, or lymph gland, is a kidney-shaped organ of the lymphatic system and the adaptive immune system. A large number of lymph nodes are linked throughout the body by the lymphatic vessels. They are major sites of lymphocytes that include ...

s and nodes, and was found to have the most severe type (4B). He was not expected to survive. He said to himself, "Don, you may be very good in your line of business, but you know nothing about this one", and assembled a team around himself that he could rely on in his fight against the cancer. Cohan looked for excellent doctors who would allow him to undergo therapy usually considered too grueling for someone his age. He interviewed doctors, engaged a psychiatrist to help him deal with grief and fear, and told his wife she would be his deputy in the struggle. He went through aggressive chemotherapy and radiation therapy, suffered through fatigue, nausea, night sweats, swelling, and pain, and made it through the cancer successfully. Then, though only one percent of patients get Hodgkin's disease a second time—he found himself in that category. Again, he was not expected to survive. Again, he underwent aggressive chemotherapy and radiation therapy. And again, he defeated the cancer.

Sailing, post-Hodgkins

In 2002, at the age of 72, he won the U.S. Soling Championship. He also finished 5th in the world championship. Taking a step back to ruminate on sailing competitively at his age, Cohan remarked: "I'm aware that I'm on the

downwind In geography and seamanship, windward () and leeward () are directions relative to the wind. Windward is ''upwind'' from the point of reference, i.e., towards the direction from which the wind is coming; leeward is ''downwind'' from the point o ...

side of the hill, and the reawakened goal of being a competitive sailor has caused me to stir up banked fires and rejuvenate neglected physical abilities." He was inducted into the Philadelphia Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2005. In 2010, he was still sailing competitively.

Philanthropy

Cohan has served as President of

Jewish Employment and Vocational Service Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

(JEVS) Human Services, as a member of the Directors Leadership Council of the University of Pennsylvania Abramson Cancer Center, and as a member of the Board of Directors of

The Philadelphia Orchestra The Philadelphia Orchestra is an American Orchestra, symphony orchestra, based in Philadelphia. One of the "Big Five (orchestras), Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it perfo ...

. In 1986 he made a gift of a dormitory to Amherst College; it was named the Cohan Dormitory in his honor in 1989.

Select works

Books

''Importing practices & procedures: A reference manual''
(1964;

Pennsylvania Bar Association The Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students in Pennsylvania, United States. The association offers membership benefits, including publications, practice support, networking, and continuing ...

, Committee on Continuing Legal Education)
''Pennsylvania Trusts''
(1964)

Articles

"Pennsylvania Wait-and-See Perpetuity Doctrine – New Kernels from Old Nutshells"
28 ''Temple Law Quarterly'' 321 (Winter 1955)
"Manufacturing Federal Diversity Jurisdiction by the Appointment of Representatives: Its Legality and Propriety"
with Mercer Tate, 1 ''Villanova Law Review'' 201 (1956)
"Legal, Tax, and Accounting Aspects of Fiduciary Appointment of Stock Proceeds: The Non-Statutory Pennsylvania Rules"
with Stephen Dean, 106 ''

University of Pennsylvania Law Review The ''University of Pennsylvania Law Review'', formerly known as the ''American Law Register'', is a law review published by an organization of second and third year J.D. students at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. It is the oldest law ...

'' 2 (December 1957)
"Considering Apportionment Consequences of Corporate Action"
21–22 ''The Shingle'' 57 (1958)
"Law and Practicalities for Yachtsmen"
32 ''Temple Law Quarterly'' 241 (1958–59)
"Pennsylvania Tentative Trusts"
110 ''

'' 972 (1962)
"Accounting Considerations of Apportionment by Trustees of Receipts from Stock"
36 ''Temple Law Quarterly'' 121 (Winter 1963)
"Legal and Practical Implications of Purchasing a Pleasure Boat – The Role of the Attorney"
37 ''Temple Law Quarterly'' 401 (1963)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cohan, Don 1930 births 2018 deaths American male sailors (sport) Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in sailing Sailors at the 1972 Summer Olympics – Dragon Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics Jewish American sportspeople Amherst College alumni Harvard Law School alumni Sportspeople from Philadelphia 21st-century American Jews 20th-century American sportsmen