Jules Davids
Encyclopedia
Jules Davids was a professor of diplomatic history at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service
at Georgetown University
until his retirement in 1986. A prolific author, his most famous work was undoubtedly his editorial assistance on Profiles in Courage
, a surprise bestseller that won the 1957 Pulitzer Prize
for biography for its author, Senator John F Kennedy. Davids received $700 for his labors and acknowldgement in the foreword that he "materially assisted in the preparation of several chapters," but extensive revelations from many sources, including a detailed account by Jules Davids himself, establish that Davids prepared initial drafts of five of the chapters on the book.
He joined the faculty at Georgetown University in 1947. His students included future United States
president Bill Clinton
when Clinton was a Georgetown undergraduate in 1968, future first lady Jacqueline Kennedy, and historian Douglas Brinkley
, with whom he discussed his involvement in the Kennedy book.
Davids was born in 1920 and grew up in Brooklyn, New York, and graduated from Brooklyn College. At Georgetown he was one of the most popular professors at the School of Foreign Service, where he taught a generation of future diplomats and policymakers. His own textbook of American history, America and the World of Our Time, was published by Random House in several editions in the early 1960s. A specialist in U.S.-China relations, he edited over 40 volumes that compiled all of the United States diplomatic papers with China from the inception of U.S.-China relations.
He was married for 45 years to Frances Davids of Oyster Bay, Long Island, New York, who taught 5th grade in a lengthy teaching career. They had two children: Paul Davids, a well-known film producer/director and writer (and artist) in Hollywood (www.pauldavids.com), who is married to Hollace Davids, senior vice president of Special Projects for Universal Pictures – and Jeanie Dwyer, who with her husband, Kevin, has three children (Matthew, Julie and Colin), two of whom have graduated from the University of Southern California and one of whom is currently a student there. Jules Davids died in 1996 after suffering for many years from Alzheimer's disease, and Frances Davids wrote a book, Living with Alzheimer's, about her role as a caregiver. One of Paul Davids' films deals to some extent with the legacy of his father: The Artist and the Shaman and the great sense of personal loss that followed Jules Davids' death. Jules Davids, scholar, author, professor, brilliant lecturer at Georgetown University for 40 years, is greatly loved, and his legacy is still widely respected. He is honored every year at Georgetown by the Jules Davids medal given in his honor. His final book, which was to have been a definitive study of the life and career of Averell Harriman (begun with Harriman's collaboration and then continued by Davids alone) was never completed. Jules Davids's epitaph reads: Greatly loved, a man of gentle wisdom.
Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service
The Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service is a school within Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., United States. Jesuit priest Edmund A...
at Georgetown University
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
until his retirement in 1986. A prolific author, his most famous work was undoubtedly his editorial assistance on Profiles in Courage
Profiles in Courage
Profiles in Courage is a 1955 Pulitzer Prize-winning biography describing acts of bravery and integrity by eight United States Senators throughout the Senate's history. The book profiles senators who crossed party lines and/or defied the public opinion of their constituents to do what they felt was...
, a surprise bestseller that won the 1957 Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography
The Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography has been presented since 1917 for a distinguished biography or autobiography by an American author.-1910s:* 1917: Julia Ward Howe by Laura E...
for biography for its author, Senator John F Kennedy. Davids received $700 for his labors and acknowldgement in the foreword that he "materially assisted in the preparation of several chapters," but extensive revelations from many sources, including a detailed account by Jules Davids himself, establish that Davids prepared initial drafts of five of the chapters on the book.
He joined the faculty at Georgetown University in 1947. His students included future United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
president Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
when Clinton was a Georgetown undergraduate in 1968, future first lady Jacqueline Kennedy, and historian Douglas Brinkley
Douglas Brinkley
Douglas Brinkley is an American author, professor of history at Rice University and a fellow at the James Baker Institute for Public Policy. Brinkley is the history commentator for CBS News and a contributing editor to the magazine Vanity Fair...
, with whom he discussed his involvement in the Kennedy book.
Davids was born in 1920 and grew up in Brooklyn, New York, and graduated from Brooklyn College. At Georgetown he was one of the most popular professors at the School of Foreign Service, where he taught a generation of future diplomats and policymakers. His own textbook of American history, America and the World of Our Time, was published by Random House in several editions in the early 1960s. A specialist in U.S.-China relations, he edited over 40 volumes that compiled all of the United States diplomatic papers with China from the inception of U.S.-China relations.
He was married for 45 years to Frances Davids of Oyster Bay, Long Island, New York, who taught 5th grade in a lengthy teaching career. They had two children: Paul Davids, a well-known film producer/director and writer (and artist) in Hollywood (www.pauldavids.com), who is married to Hollace Davids, senior vice president of Special Projects for Universal Pictures – and Jeanie Dwyer, who with her husband, Kevin, has three children (Matthew, Julie and Colin), two of whom have graduated from the University of Southern California and one of whom is currently a student there. Jules Davids died in 1996 after suffering for many years from Alzheimer's disease, and Frances Davids wrote a book, Living with Alzheimer's, about her role as a caregiver. One of Paul Davids' films deals to some extent with the legacy of his father: The Artist and the Shaman and the great sense of personal loss that followed Jules Davids' death. Jules Davids, scholar, author, professor, brilliant lecturer at Georgetown University for 40 years, is greatly loved, and his legacy is still widely respected. He is honored every year at Georgetown by the Jules Davids medal given in his honor. His final book, which was to have been a definitive study of the life and career of Averell Harriman (begun with Harriman's collaboration and then continued by Davids alone) was never completed. Jules Davids's epitaph reads: Greatly loved, a man of gentle wisdom.