Laird Bell
Encyclopedia
Laird Bell was a distinguished attorney and Democrat who founded a leading Chicago law firm and endowed several charitable institutions. Bell was an extraordinarily active contributor in a variety of social and not-for-profit causes. He served most notably as Chairman of the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations, Chairman of the University of Chicago Board of Trustees, and of Carleton College, and President of the Harvard Alumni Association. Bell was also an Overseer of Harvard College from 1948 to 1954. His active participation
in the work of education began as President of the Board of Education of Winnetka, Illinois, in 1919. He was also instrumental in the establishment of the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, then, as now, based in Evanston, Illinois, serving as the first Chair of the Board of Directors. Bell founded a Chicago law firm, Bell, Boyd and Lloyd, that continues to bear his name.
Bell served as the interim Chancellor of the University of Chicago
in 1951, during the interregnum between Robert Hutchins
and Lawrence A. Kimpton
. Prior to that, Bell had been one of Hutchins' chief defenders in several struggles with State Legislators concerning academic freedom in the 1930s and 1940s. According to Milton Mayer, Bell was perhaps Hutchins' closest friend during his years at the University of Chicago.
In addition to his legal and philanthropic work, Bell was a senior executive and board member of the Weyerhauser Timber company, where his father, F.S. Bell, served as Chairman of the Board and President of the related Laird Norton Company. Bell was active in advising and advocating on behalf of Phil Weyerhauser during the firm's corporate changes during the Depression. Bell was eventually named Chairman of the Board of Weyerhauser, and Bell was also named publisher of the Chicago Daily News
, when its publisher, Frank Knox died during the war, in 1944.
In foreign affairs, Bell was perhaps the main "interventionist" in Chicago before World War II
, when Chicago was otherwise a national center of isolationism. Bell visited Nazi Germany frequently in the period before World War II, representing US bondholders who had lost more than $1 billion through "reappraisals" by the Reichsbank under the leadership of Hjalmar Horace Greeley Schacht
. Bell's co-counsel in the representation was John Foster Dulles
of the New York firm Sullivan & Cromwell
. In 1940-1941, Bell was head of the Chicago chapter of the Committee to Defend America by Aiding the Allies.
Bell received a KBE knighthood for his war-time activities on behalf of British War Relief
. Following the war, he then played an active part, for a private citizen, in creating the New Europe. Bell returned to Germany as a legal adviser to Brigadier General William H. Draper. Jr., Head of the Economics Division, in General Lucius Clay
's U.S. Military Government in Germany OMGUS. Draper's group brokered US interests in post-war German corporations. In 1945 and 1946, Bell "stalked the corridors of Foggy Bottom" in a "one-man crusade against 1067" a US rule that proposed a "barbarous" dismantling of Germany. As president of the Alumni Association of Harvard University in June 1947 Laird Bell organized the commencement speech
es where Secretary of State George Marshall launched the European Recovery Plan. (General Omar Bradley was the main speaker that day).
In the spring of 1949, Bell joined Columbia President Dwight Eisenhower and a group of other notables, chaired by Allen Dulles, in The National Committee for Free Europe, Inc, a private organization which gave aid to intellectuals and political refugees in newly communist European countries. In 1956 he presided over Adlai Stevenson's campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Born in Minnesota, Bell graduated from Harvard College and the University of Chicago Law School
. Bell endowed chairs at Carleton College
, Harvard University
, and the Laird Bell Law Quadrangle at the University of Chicago
is named after him.
Bell resided in Chicago's northern suburbs, served on the board of several Chicago charitable organizations and was a member of the University Club. Bell was born in Winona, Minnesota
in 1883 and married Nathalie Fairbank in Chicago in 1909. Nathalie Fairbank was the daughter of the distinguished Fairbank merchant family in Chicago, and her pre-wedding portrait is in storage at the Smithsonian. The eldest of Bell's four daughters, Helen Graham Bell, married a future British MP, Geoffrey de Freitas
in 1936. Bell was a parent and Trustee at the North Shore Country Day School
, where a meeting room was named after him in 1956. Bell died on October 21, 1965 in the Evanston (IL) hospital.
On October 12, 1966, the Quadrangle at the University of Chicago Law School was named posthumously after Bell. Former President Hutchins spoke at the dedication.
in the work of education began as President of the Board of Education of Winnetka, Illinois, in 1919. He was also instrumental in the establishment of the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, then, as now, based in Evanston, Illinois, serving as the first Chair of the Board of Directors. Bell founded a Chicago law firm, Bell, Boyd and Lloyd, that continues to bear his name.
Bell served as the interim Chancellor of the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
in 1951, during the interregnum between Robert Hutchins
Robert Hutchins
Robert Maynard Hutchins , was an educational philosopher, dean of Yale Law School , and president and chancellor of the University of Chicago. He was the husband of novelist Maude Hutchins...
and Lawrence A. Kimpton
Lawrence A. Kimpton
Lawrence Alpheus Kimpton was an American philosopher and educator, and a president of the University of Chicago. He earned a B.A. at Stanford and a Ph.D...
. Prior to that, Bell had been one of Hutchins' chief defenders in several struggles with State Legislators concerning academic freedom in the 1930s and 1940s. According to Milton Mayer, Bell was perhaps Hutchins' closest friend during his years at the University of Chicago.
In addition to his legal and philanthropic work, Bell was a senior executive and board member of the Weyerhauser Timber company, where his father, F.S. Bell, served as Chairman of the Board and President of the related Laird Norton Company. Bell was active in advising and advocating on behalf of Phil Weyerhauser during the firm's corporate changes during the Depression. Bell was eventually named Chairman of the Board of Weyerhauser, and Bell was also named publisher of the Chicago Daily News
Chicago Daily News
The Chicago Daily News was an afternoon daily newspaper published between 1876 and 1978 in Chicago, Illinois.-History:The Daily News was founded by Melville E. Stone, Percy Meggy, and William Dougherty in 1875 and began publishing early the next year...
, when its publisher, Frank Knox died during the war, in 1944.
In foreign affairs, Bell was perhaps the main "interventionist" in Chicago before World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, when Chicago was otherwise a national center of isolationism. Bell visited Nazi Germany frequently in the period before World War II, representing US bondholders who had lost more than $1 billion through "reappraisals" by the Reichsbank under the leadership of Hjalmar Horace Greeley Schacht
Schacht
Schacht is a German surname, derived from the common noun meaning "mine shaft".Those bearing it include:* Hjalmar Schacht , German financial expert during the time of Hitler* Joseph Schacht , Jewish Islamic scholar...
. Bell's co-counsel in the representation was John Foster Dulles
John Foster Dulles
John Foster Dulles served as U.S. Secretary of State under President Dwight D. Eisenhower from 1953 to 1959. He was a significant figure in the early Cold War era, advocating an aggressive stance against communism throughout the world...
of the New York firm Sullivan & Cromwell
Sullivan & Cromwell
Sullivan & Cromwell LLP is an international law firm headquartered in New York. The firm has approximately 800 lawyers in 12 offices, located in financial centers in the United States, Asia, Australia and Europe. Sullivan & Cromwell was founded by Algernon Sydney Sullivan and William Nelson...
. In 1940-1941, Bell was head of the Chicago chapter of the Committee to Defend America by Aiding the Allies.
Bell received a KBE knighthood for his war-time activities on behalf of British War Relief
British War Relief Society
The British War Relief Society was a US-based humanitarian umbrella organisation dealing with the supply of non-military aid such as food, clothes, medical supplies and financial aid to people in Great Britain during the early years of the Second World War...
. Following the war, he then played an active part, for a private citizen, in creating the New Europe. Bell returned to Germany as a legal adviser to Brigadier General William H. Draper. Jr., Head of the Economics Division, in General Lucius Clay
Lucius Clay
Lucius Clay may refer to:*Lucius D. Clay , American military governor of Germany after World War II*Lucius D. Clay, Jr. , American commander of the Air Defense Command...
's U.S. Military Government in Germany OMGUS. Draper's group brokered US interests in post-war German corporations. In 1945 and 1946, Bell "stalked the corridors of Foggy Bottom" in a "one-man crusade against 1067" a US rule that proposed a "barbarous" dismantling of Germany. As president of the Alumni Association of Harvard University in June 1947 Laird Bell organized the commencement speech
Commencement speech
A commencement speech or commencement address is a speech given to graduating students, generally at a university, although the term is also used for secondary education institutions. The "commencement" is a ceremony in which degrees or diplomas are conferred upon graduating students...
es where Secretary of State George Marshall launched the European Recovery Plan. (General Omar Bradley was the main speaker that day).
In the spring of 1949, Bell joined Columbia President Dwight Eisenhower and a group of other notables, chaired by Allen Dulles, in The National Committee for Free Europe, Inc, a private organization which gave aid to intellectuals and political refugees in newly communist European countries. In 1956 he presided over Adlai Stevenson's campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Born in Minnesota, Bell graduated from Harvard College and the University of Chicago Law School
University of Chicago Law School
The University of Chicago Law School was founded in 1902 as the graduate school of law at the University of Chicago and is among the most prestigious and selective law schools in the world. The U.S. News & World Report currently ranks it fifth among U.S...
. Bell endowed chairs at Carleton College
Carleton College
Carleton College is an independent non-sectarian, coeducational, liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota, USA. The college enrolls 1,958 undergraduate students, and employs 198 full-time faculty members. In 2012 U.S...
, Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, and the Laird Bell Law Quadrangle at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
is named after him.
Bell resided in Chicago's northern suburbs, served on the board of several Chicago charitable organizations and was a member of the University Club. Bell was born in Winona, Minnesota
Winona, Minnesota
Winona is a city in and the county seat of Winona County, in the U.S. State of Minnesota. Located in picturesque bluff country on the Mississippi River, its most noticeable physical landmark is Sugar Loaf....
in 1883 and married Nathalie Fairbank in Chicago in 1909. Nathalie Fairbank was the daughter of the distinguished Fairbank merchant family in Chicago, and her pre-wedding portrait is in storage at the Smithsonian. The eldest of Bell's four daughters, Helen Graham Bell, married a future British MP, Geoffrey de Freitas
Geoffrey de Freitas
Sir Geoffrey Stanley de Freitas was a British politician and diplomat. For many years a Labour Member of Parliament, he also served as British High Commissioner in Accra and Nairobi, and later as President of the Council of Europe....
in 1936. Bell was a parent and Trustee at the North Shore Country Day School
North Shore Country Day School
North Shore Country Day School, is a small private school founded in 1919 and located in Winnetka, Illinois. It consists of a lower school, a middle school, and an upper school.-History:...
, where a meeting room was named after him in 1956. Bell died on October 21, 1965 in the Evanston (IL) hospital.
On October 12, 1966, the Quadrangle at the University of Chicago Law School was named posthumously after Bell. Former President Hutchins spoke at the dedication.