Shelby Cullom Davis (April 1, 1909 – May 26, 1994) was an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist from the state of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. In 1947 he created Shelby Cullom Davis & Company, which became a leading investment firm. He later served as the American Ambassador to Switzerland under Presidents

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was t ...

and

Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...

. Originally from

Peoria, Illinois Peoria ( ) is the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, United States, and the largest city on the Illinois River. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 113,150. It is the principal city of the Peoria Metropolitan Area in Centr ...

, Davis' uncle was

Shelby Moore Cullom Shelby Moore Cullom (November 22, 1829 – January 28, 1914) was a U.S. political figure, serving in various offices, including the United States House of Representatives, the United States Senate and the 17th Governor of Illinois. Life and c ...

, who served in the U.S Senate for 30 years and introduced the legislation to create the Interstate Commerce Commission.

Education

After graduating from The Lawrenceville School in 1926, he matriculated to

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the n ...

, graduating in 1930 and earned a master's degree at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manha ...

in 1931. He earned a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' ...

in political science at the

Graduate Institute of International Studies Graduate may refer to: Education * The subject of a graduation, i.e. someone awarded an academic degree ** Alumnus, a former student who has either attended or graduated from an institution * High school graduate, someone who has completed high ...

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situ ...

, in 1934. His dissertation was about military personnel in Africa (''Reservoirs of men, a history of the black troops of French West Africa'').

Thomas E. Dewey

Shelby joined the staff of District Attorney

Thomas E. Dewey Thomas Edmund Dewey (March 24, 1902 – March 16, 1971) was an American lawyer, prosecutor, and politician who served as the 47th governor of New York from 1943 to 1954. He was the Republican candidate for president in 1944 and 1948: although ...

as an economist and research assistant. He advised Dewey during his presidential runs in 1940 and 1944 and was later appointed by then-New York Governor Dewey as First Deputy Superintendent of Insurance from 1944 to 1947.

Business career

Prior to his government service, Shelby had worked as a European correspondent for

CBS Radio CBS Radio was a radio broadcasting company and radio network operator owned by CBS Corporation and founded in 1928, with consolidated radio station groups owned by CBS and Westinghouse Broadcasting/Group W since the 1920s, and Infinity Broa ...

in Geneva. In 1941 he became a member of the

New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed ...

. 6 years later, with an investment of $100,000 he founded and headed Shelby Cullom Davis & Company, an investment firm, specializing in insurance securities. At the time of his death Shelby served as chairman. His son, Shelby Davis, formed Davis Selected Advisers in 1969 and by the 1980s had made the cut for Forbes Magazine's richest 400 Americans.

Death

Davis died at his home in

Hobe Sound, Florida Hobe Sound is an unincorporated area and census-designated place (CDP) in Martin County, Florida, United States, located along Florida's Treasure Coast. The population was 13,163 at the 2020 census, up from 11,521 in 2010. Geography Hobe Sound ...

, aged 85, following a brief illness. He was survived by his wife of 44 years, Kathryn Wasserman Davis; two children Shelby M. C., of Manhattan; a daughter, Diana D. Spencer and eight grandchildren.

Philanthropy

He provided significant financial support to

, funded chairs and professorships at

Wellesley College Wellesley College is a private women's liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henry and Pauline Durant as a female seminary, it is a member of the original Seven Sisters Colleges, an unofficia ...

, and endowed the Cullom - Davis Library at

Bradley University Bradley University is a private university in Peoria, Illinois. Founded in 1897, Bradley University enrolls 5,400 students who are pursuing degrees in more than 100 undergraduate programs and more than 30 graduate programs in five colleges. The ...

. A Professorship of International Security Studies at

Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy is the graduate school of international affairs of Tufts University, in Medford, Massachusetts. The School is one of America's oldest graduate schools of international relations and is well-ranked in it ...

was also instituted in his name. He also provided support to the Library and Museum of the Performing Arts at

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 millio ...

in NYC. His generous support of the

Society of Colonial Wars The Society of Colonial Wars is a hereditary society composed of men who trace their descents from forebears who, in military, naval, or civil positions of high trust and responsibility, by acts or counsel, assisted in the establishment, defense ...

is recognized in part through the Shelby Cullom Davis Lecture. In December 2013 it was announced that through his charitable fund a $10 million donation was made to

Colby College Colby College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Waterville, Maine. It was founded in 1813 as the Maine Literary and Theological Institution, then renamed Waterville College after the ...

, Waterville, Maine. The Shelby Cullom Davis Center for Historical Studies in the Department of History at

is named after Davis. The use of funds meant to endow the Shelby Cullom professorship at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut led in part to the resignation of that college's president

James Jones James Jones may refer to: Sports Association football *James Jones (footballer, born 1873) (1873–1955), British Olympic footballer * James Jones (footballer, born 1996), Scottish footballer for Wrexham *James Jones (footballer, born 1997), Wel ...

, as well as media attention to the donor intent issue.Wooster, Martin Morse, "Games Universities Play: And How Donors Can Avoid Them", John Williams Pope Center for Higher Education Policy, September, 2011 available at https://www.jamesgmartin.center/acrobat/pope_articles/donor_wooster_report_finalfpo.pdf

Affiliations

Davis was chairman and treasurer of an eponymous, conservative

think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmental ...

, the Shelby Cullom Davis Foundation, at the time of his death. He was also affiliated with the

Heritage Foundation The Heritage Foundation (abbreviated to Heritage) is an American conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C. that is primarily geared toward public policy. The foundation took a leading role in the conservative movement during the pre ...

, The Mayflower Society,

Sons of the Revolution Sons of the Revolution is a hereditary society which was founded in 1876 and educates the public about the American Revolution. The General Society Sons of the Revolution headquarters is a Pennsylvania non-profit corporation located at Willia ...

The Society of the Cincinnati The Society of the Cincinnati is a fraternal, hereditary society founded in 1783 to commemorate the American Revolutionary War that saw the creation of the United States. Membership is largely restricted to descendants of military officers wh ...

and was an officer of The Huguenot Society of America.

References

External links

''New York Times'' obituary for Shelby Cullom DavisVictims of Communism Memorial: A Progress ReportThe Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for International StudiesPrinceton University's Davis Center
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Shelby Cullom 1909 births 1994 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American philanthropists Ambassadors of the United States to Switzerland American expatriates in Switzerland American investment bankers Businesspeople from Illinois Businesspeople from New York (state) Columbia University alumni Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies alumni New York (state) Republicans People from Hobe Sound, Florida People from Peoria, Illinois People from Tarrytown, New York Philanthropists from Illinois Philanthropists from New York (state) Princeton University alumni The Heritage Foundation