David W. Belin
Encyclopedia
David W. Belin, of Des Moines, Iowa
and New York
, was an American businessman, and was also noted for his public service. He was born June 20, 1928 and died on January 17, 1999 in Rochester, Minnesota
from head injuries sustained in a fall.
A successful businessman, Belin owned a number of Midwestern publications and co-owned The Tribune in Ames, Iowa, with Michael Gartner
, the former president of NBC News
.
Belin was assistant counsel to the Warren Commission
, which investigated President John F. Kennedy
's assassination. He concluded that Lee Harvey Oswald
had worked entirely on his own as Kennedy's assassin, which the commission affirmed in its final report. Belin stood by the findings of the Warren report until his death, and was known to become incensed at any mention of an assassination conspiracy. As he lay in a coma in his final days, his friends would whisper conspiracy theories about the JFK assassination into his ear to confirm his unconsciousness by his unprecedented lack of response.
Belin wrote two books on the JFK Assassination: "November 22, 1963: You Are the Jury" (1973) and "Final Disclosure" (1988).
Belin's former Warren Commission member and then-president Gerald Ford
appointed him executive director to the Rockefeller Commission
, which investigated CIA activities within the United States
.
as an academic forum for the discussion of contemporary Jewish life in the United States. Belin graduated from the University of Michigan
's http://www.umich.edu College of Literature, Science and the Arts http://www.lsa.umich.edu, Business School and Law School.
Past Belin lecturers have included Egon Mayer
, Stephen J. Whitfeld, Arthur Green
, Deborah Dash Moore
, Alvin Rosenfeld, Paula Hyman
, Jeffrey S. Gurock
, Arnold Eisen
, Sylvia Barack Fishman, Jonathan Sarna
, Hasia Diner
, Susan Martha Kahn, Riv-Ellen Prell, Andrew Heinze and Fred Lazin. The Belin lectures have been published annually by the University of Michigan Frankel Center for Judaic Studies http://www.lsa.umich.edu/judaic.
Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857...
and New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, was an American businessman, and was also noted for his public service. He was born June 20, 1928 and died on January 17, 1999 in Rochester, Minnesota
Rochester, Minnesota
Rochester is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Olmsted County. Located on both banks of the Zumbro River, The city has a population of 106,769 according to the 2010 United States Census, making it Minnesota's third-largest city and the largest outside of the...
from head injuries sustained in a fall.
Notable Actions
Belin served the Jewish community in many leadership positions.A successful businessman, Belin owned a number of Midwestern publications and co-owned The Tribune in Ames, Iowa, with Michael Gartner
Michael Gartner
Michael Gartner is an American journalist and businessman. He was President of the Iowa Board of Regents. He is a graduate of Carleton College and the New York University School of Law....
, the former president of NBC News
NBC News
NBC News is the news division of American television network NBC. It first started broadcasting in February 21, 1940. NBC Nightly News has aired from Studio 3B, located on floors 3 of the NBC Studios is the headquarters of the GE Building forms the centerpiece of 30th Rockefeller Center it is...
.
Government Service
Belin served in the army in Korea and in Japan.Belin was assistant counsel to the Warren Commission
Warren Commission
The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy, known unofficially as the Warren Commission, was established on November 27, 1963, by Lyndon B. Johnson to investigate the assassination of United States President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963...
, which investigated President John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
's assassination. He concluded that Lee Harvey Oswald
Lee Harvey Oswald
Lee Harvey Oswald was, according to four government investigations,These were investigations by: the Federal Bureau of Investigation , the Warren Commission , the House Select Committee on Assassinations , and the Dallas Police Department. the sniper who assassinated John F...
had worked entirely on his own as Kennedy's assassin, which the commission affirmed in its final report. Belin stood by the findings of the Warren report until his death, and was known to become incensed at any mention of an assassination conspiracy. As he lay in a coma in his final days, his friends would whisper conspiracy theories about the JFK assassination into his ear to confirm his unconsciousness by his unprecedented lack of response.
Belin wrote two books on the JFK Assassination: "November 22, 1963: You Are the Jury" (1973) and "Final Disclosure" (1988).
Belin's former Warren Commission member and then-president Gerald Ford
Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...
appointed him executive director to the Rockefeller Commission
Rockefeller Commission
Rockefeller Commission can refer to either of two commissions in U.S. history, although it is not the proper name of either:* The 1972 President's Commission on Population Growth and the American Future, headed by John D. Rockefeller III. It was created by an Act of Congress, which was signed into...
, which investigated CIA activities within the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Belin Lectureship
In 1991, Belin established the David W. Belin Lectureship in American Jewish Affairs at his alma mater the University of MichiganUniversity of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
as an academic forum for the discussion of contemporary Jewish life in the United States. Belin graduated from the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
's http://www.umich.edu College of Literature, Science and the Arts http://www.lsa.umich.edu, Business School and Law School.
Past Belin lecturers have included Egon Mayer
Egon Mayer
Egon Mayer was a German World War II fighter ace who served in the Luftwaffe from 1937 until his death in 1944. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords...
, Stephen J. Whitfeld, Arthur Green
Arthur Green
Arthur Green is a scholar of Jewish mysticism and Neo-Hasidism. He is a professor in the non-denominational rabbinical program at Hebrew College in Boston. He was a dean of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in 1987–1993.-Biography:...
, Deborah Dash Moore
Deborah Dash Moore
Deborah Dash Moore is the Director of the Frankel Center for Judaic Studies and a Frederick G.L. Huetwell Professor of History at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan.-Early life and education:...
, Alvin Rosenfeld, Paula Hyman
Paula Hyman
Paula Hyman is the Lucy Moses Professor of Modern Jewish History at Yale University and president of the American Academy of Jewish Research...
, Jeffrey S. Gurock
Jeffrey S. Gurock
Jeffrey S. Gurock is Libby M. Klaperman Professor of Jewish History at Yeshiva University. He has written over a dozen books in the field of American Jewish History and also served as associate editor to American Jewish History, the most important journal in that field...
, Arnold Eisen
Arnold Eisen
Arnold M. Eisen, Ph.D. is Chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary. Prior to this appointment, he served as the Koshland Professor of Jewish Culture and Religion and Chair of the Department of Religious Studies at Stanford University...
, Sylvia Barack Fishman, Jonathan Sarna
Jonathan Sarna
Jonathan D. Sarna is the Joseph H. and Belle R. Braun Professor of American Jewish History in the department of and the director of the Hornstein Program in Jewish Professional Leadership. He is regarded as one of the most prominent historians of American Judaism...
, Hasia Diner
Hasia Diner
Hasia Diner is an American historian. Diner is the Paul S. and Sylvia Steinberg Professor of American Jewish History; Professor of Hebrew and Judaic Studies, History; and Director of the Goldstein-Goren Center for American Jewish History at New York University.Diner received her Ph.D., 1976,...
, Susan Martha Kahn, Riv-Ellen Prell, Andrew Heinze and Fred Lazin. The Belin lectures have been published annually by the University of Michigan Frankel Center for Judaic Studies http://www.lsa.umich.edu/judaic.