George Bannerman Dealey (September 18, 1859 – February 26, 1946) was a

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, businessman. Dealey was the long-time

publisher Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...

of ''

The Dallas Morning News ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation in 2022 of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885, by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ' ...

'' and owner of the A. H. Belo Corporation. A plaza in Dallas is named in his honor and became instantly world-famous when it was the site of the

assassination of John F. Kennedy 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 Kennedy Onas ...

in 1963.

Childhood

Dealey was born on September 18, 1859, at the home of his parents, George Dealey (1829–1894) and Mary Ann Nellins (1829–1913), on Queen St.,

Rusholme Rusholme () is an area of Manchester, in Greater Manchester, England, two miles south of the Manchester city centre, city centre. The population of the ward at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 13,643. Rusholme is bounded by Chorl ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. He was the fifth of 10 children. In the mid-1860s the family moved to

Liverpool, England Liverpool is a port city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population of (in ), Liverpool is the administrative, c ...

, where he began his schooling and worked as a grocer's apprentice. In 1870 his family immigrated to

Galveston, Texas Galveston ( ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal resort town, resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island (Texas), Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a pop ...

, where he continued in public school and worked at various odd jobs.

Newspaper career

On October 12, 1874, Dealey assumed an older brother's job as an office boy at '' The Galveston News'' at $3.00 per week, for the owner, Alfred H. Belo. Dealey took evening classes at the Island City Business College and rose steadily at the News. As a traveling correspondent, he sent both news stories and newspaper-business reports back to Galveston. In 1884, Dealey determined that Dallas would be the best market for a new Belo company newspaper. In 1885, ''The Dallas Morning News'' debuted. He became the paper's manager in 1895, a board member in 1902, vice president and general manager of the corporation in 1906, and president in 1919. Dealey refused advertising that he considered dishonest or immoral, including ads for hard liquor. He refused ads for oilfield ventures since he could not determine which were sound businesses. The News also opposed the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to KKK or Klan, is an American Protestant-led Christian terrorism, Christian extremist, white supremacist, Right-wing terrorism, far-right hate group. It was founded in 1865 during Reconstruction era, ...

's influence in the 1920s. Dealey also owned the ''G. B. Dealey Land Co.'' and the ''West Commerce Realty Co.'' He founded an early newspaper-owned radio station,

WFAA WFAA (channel 8) is a television station licensed to Dallas, Texas, United States, serving as the American Broadcasting Company, ABC affiliate for the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside Decatur, Texas, Decatur-li ...

, in 1922. In 1926, Dealey bought ''The Dallas Morning News'', the ''Journal'' (an evening edition), the ''Semi-Weekly Farm News'', and the ''

Texas Almanac The Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) is an American nonprofit educational and research organization dedicated to documenting the history of Texas. It was founded in Austin, Texas, United States, on March 2, 1897. In November 2008, the ...

'' from the heirs of A. H. Belo, along with a majority of the company stock.

Civic activities

Under Dealey, the News was enlisted in the cause of civic planning. A campaign of 1899 led to the foundation of the ''Cleaner Dallas League'', which became the ''Dallas Civic Improvement League'' in 1902. He was instrumental in the adoption of the 1910

Kessler Plan The Kessler Plan was the City of Dallas’s managed growth plan from 1910 through the 1930s, authored by George Kessler, a city planner. The Plan was intended to create and contain the Dallas Floodway of the Trinity River, and combine the six rail ...

to improve Dallas and provide for its growth. Dealey helped establish

Southern Methodist University Southern Methodist University (SMU) is a Private university, private research university in Dallas, Texas, United States, with a satellite campus in Taos County, New Mexico. SMU was founded on April 17, 1911, by the Methodist Episcopal Church, ...

and was instrumental in bringing a

Federal Reserve The Federal Reserve System (often shortened to the Federal Reserve, or simply the Fed) is the central banking system of the United States. It was created on December 23, 1913, with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, after a series of ...

branch to Dallas. Dealey served on the board of governors of the American City Planning Institute (1920–21), as vice president of the

National Municipal League The National Civic League is an American nonpartisan, non-profit organization founded in 1894 as the "National Municipal League”; it adopted its new name in 1986. Its mission is to advance civic engagement to create equitable, thriving communit ...

(1923–24), on the advisory council of the American Planning and Civic Association, and on the national committee of the

Commission on Interracial Cooperation The Commission on Interracial Cooperation (1918–1944) was an organization founded in Atlanta, Georgia, December 18, 1918, and officially incorporated in 1929. Will W. Alexander, pastor of a local white Methodist church, was head of the organiza ...

. He was a director of the Children's Hospital of Texas and was president of the Family Bureau, a Dallas social agency, from its inception in 1908. He was also president of the ''Philosophical Society of Texas'', a member of the ''Texas Press Association'', an honorary life member of the

Texas State Historical Association The Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) is an American nonprofit educational and research organization dedicated to documenting the history of Texas. It was founded in Austin, Texas, United States, on March 2, 1897. In November 2008, the ...

, founder (1922) and lifetime president (from 1933) of the Dallas Historical Society, and second vice president of the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

(1923–24). Dealey had honorary roles with

Sigma Delta Chi The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), formerly known as Sigma Delta Chi, is the oldest organization representing journalists in the United States. It was established on April 17, 1909, at DePauw University,2009 SPJ Annual Report, letter ...

(1940–41) and

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

(1943). He received honorary doctoral degrees from Southern Methodist University (1921), Austin College (1924), and the University of Missouri (1925), the last of which invited him to accept a gift to its school of journalism from the British Empire Press Union.

Dealey Plaza Dealey Plaza is a city park in the West End Historic District of downtown Dallas, Texas. It is sometimes called the "birthplace of Dallas". It was also the location of the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963. The Dealey Plaza Historic ...

in Downtown Dallas was named for him upon commencement of its construction in 1934 (for the 1936 Texas Centennial). He initially thought to decline the honor, but was persuaded to accept it by his son. A of G.B. Dealey was made and erected in Dealey Plaza in 1949.

Personal life

Dealey married Olivia Allen at her home in

Lexington, Missouri Lexington is a city in, and the county seat of, Lafayette County, Missouri, United States. The population was 4,726 at the 2010 census. Lexington is in western Missouri, within the Kansas City metropolitan area, approximately east of Kansas C ...

, on April 9, 1884. She was born in Lexington on November 14, 1863, and died at her home in Dallas on January 28, 1960. Allen had succeeded her husband as chairman of the board of A. H. Belo Corporation and was serving in that capacity when she died. The Dealeys had three daughters and two sons. The sons were Walter Allen Dealey and Edward Musgrove (Ted) Dealey. Ted Dealey succeeded his father as publisher of the ''Morning News'' and became known for his strident conservatism and anti-communism. A younger brother, James Q. Dealey (1861–1937), was a professor of political science at

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

and later editor of the ''Morning News''. A nephew, Samuel David Dealey (1906–1944), was a

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

naval submarine officer who received the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

and for whom the

USS Dealey (DE-1006) USS ''Dealey'' (DE-1006), the lead ship of her class of destroyer escort, was a ship of the United States Navy in commission from 1954 to 1972 and named for Commander Samuel D. Dealey (1906–1944), who was awarded the Medal of Honor as commandi ...

was named. Another grandson, Dr. Walter Allen (Al) Dealey Jr. became a Christian minister and studied under

Norman Vincent Peale Norman Vincent Peale (May 31, 1898 – December 24, 1993) was an American Protestant clergyman, and an author best known for popularizing the concept of positive thinking, especially through his best-selling book '' The Power of Positiv ...

Robert Decherd Robert Decherd (born 1951) is an American businessman. From 1987 to 2013, he served as the chairman of the board, president, and chief executive officer of A. H. Belo Corporation of Dallas, which owns newspapers in North Texas, most notably ''Th ...

, CEO of A. H. Belo Corporation from 1987 to 2013, and James M. Moroney III, Belo CEO from 2013 to 2018, are each Dealey's great-grandson. Dealey was a thirty-third-degree Scottish Rite Mason, Knight Templar, Shriner, and member of the Red Cross of Constantine. He was a Presbyterian and Democrat. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' called him the "dean of American newspaper publishers" for his 71 consecutive years of service to a single newspaper. Dealey was still working as a publisher when he died of a massive

coronary occlusion A coronary occlusion, or coronary artery disease, is the partial or complete Coronary artery disease, obstruction of blood flow in a coronary artery. This condition was first discussed in 1910 by William Osler, Sir William Osler. This condition s ...

at his Dallas home, February 26, 1946, at the age of 86. He was buried in Grove Hill Cemetery in Dallas.

Legacy

* The

Dallas Independent School District The Dallas Independent School District (Dallas ISD or DISD) is a school district based in Dallas, Texas, United States. It operates schools in much of Dallas County, Texas, Dallas County and is the second-largest school district in Texas and t ...

(DISD) operates George Bannerman Dealey Montessori School, an elementary school named for him in the Preston Royal area of

North Dallas North Dallas is an area of numerous communities and neighborhoods in Dallas, Texas (United States). The phrase "North Dallas" is also sometimes used to include any suburb or exurb north of Dallas proper within the metropolitan area. The majority ...

. * In 2021, the Belo Center for New Media on the UT Austin campus was renamed the G. B. Dealey Center for New Media to honor his legacy as "a legend in journalism and media." * A statue of Dealey was erected in Dealey Plaza in 1949, three years after his death.

References

External links

George Bannerman Dealey
in ''

Handbook of Texas The Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) is an American nonprofit educational and research organization dedicated to documenting the history of Texas. It was founded in Austin, Texas, United States, on March 2, 1897. In November 2008, the ...

'' Online
E. M. (Ted) Dealey
in ''

'' Online
Joseph MacDonald Dealey
in ''

'' Online
James Q. Dealey
in ''

'' Online
Samuel David Dealey
in ''

'' Online
''Dallas Morning News''
in ''

'' Online * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dealey, George 1859 births 1946 deaths American newspaper publishers (people) Businesspeople from Dallas People from Rusholme English emigrants to the United States The Dallas Morning News people Journalists from Texas