Gordon B. Davidson

Gordon B. Davidson
Born	June 24, 1926 (1926-06-24) (age 85) Louisville, KY
Alma mater	Centre College, University of Louisville Louis D. Brandeis School of Law, Yale Law School
Occupation	Attorney

Gordon B. Davidson (Born June 24, 1926) is a Louisville, Kentucky-based business attorney ^[1] and was a member of the Louisville Sponsoring Group, the collection of business leaders who put up the money that launched Muhammad Ali into professional boxing.^[2]

Background

Gordon Davidson is a life-long resident of Louisville, Kentucky and was born there on June 24, 1926. He attended Centre College in Danville, Kentucky. Davidson earned his J.D. from University of Louisville Louis D. Brandeis School of Law as well as a LL.M. from Yale Law School in 1952.^[1] He was admitted to the Bar of the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1951.^[3]

Career

From 1954 to 1955, Gordon Davidson was a law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Stanley Forman Reed. He and other clerks did research on the difficult issues in the famous Brown vs. Board of Education desegregation litigation.^[4]

In 1960, Davidson was part of the Louisville Sponsoring Group, who was responsible for signing Muhammad Ali to boxing. The contract was signed on October 26, 1960 and Ali’s first professional fight took place on October 29, 1960.^[2]

Mr. Davidson served as Managing Partner at Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs from 1980 to 1995.^[1]

Community Activities

Davidson has served on the board of important companies like The Courier-Journal and BellSouth.^[5] He has held leadership position on the boards of a long list of civic, charitable and educational institutions: Greater Louisville Inc., Louisville Central Area, Kentucky Derby Festival, and the Louisville Development Committee. .^[6] After numerous years of leadership for the Kentucky Center for the Arts,^[1] he is now a Director Emeritus for the organization.^[7]

In 1973, he was named as an Outstanding Louisville Alumni for Centre College for his devotion to the school and his distinguished career.^{[8] [9]}

In 1989, the Louisville Area Chamber of Commerce bestowed on Davidson its top civic-service award, the Gold Cup, for his leadership at a number of major arts and civic organizations in the region.^[10]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} [1], Accessed on 2010-11-23.
2. ^ ^{a b} [2] Accessed on 2010-11-24.
3. ^ http://www.kybar.org/26
4. ^ http://www.roberthjackson.org/files/theman/speeches-articles/files/articles/325789c3a71f4821b2da285a7fb4cef0.pdf
5. ^ http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-6190476.html
6. ^ "Passing the Torch: Conversations with Louisville Leaders About Life, Leadership and Service" Butler Books 2005: 146-147. Issn: 1-884532-66-7
7. ^ http://www.kentuckycenter.org/aboutus/boardofdirectors.asp
8. ^ http://www.centrelinkonline.com/s/285/index.aspx?sid=285&gid=1&pgid=447
9. ^ http://www.centrelinkonline.com/s/285/index.aspx?sid=285&gid=1&pgid=541
10. ^ Ducking the Issue; Garner Changes Channel, Urges Freedoms for TV (1989, January 12), The Courier-Journal

Persondata
Name	Davidson, Gordon B.
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	June 24, 1926
Place of birth	Louisville, KY
Date of death
Place of death