Eli Whitney Debevoise: Difference between revisions
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Eli Whitney Debevoise retired at the age of 87 and passed away at his home in Manhattan on June 30, 1990. |
Eli Whitney Debevoise retired at the age of 87 and passed away at his home in Manhattan on June 30, 1990. |
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Revision as of 07:07, 13 November 2009
Eli Whitney Debevoise (Dec. 14, 1899-June 30, 1990) was a prominent New York lawyer that co-founded the law firm Debevoise & Plimpton and periodically served in a variety of high profile government positions.[1]
Early Life
Eli Whitney Debevoise was born in Manhattan on Dec. 14, 1899 and named after his great-great grandfather, Eli Whitney, the inventor of the cotton gin.
Eli Whitney Debevoise graduated from the Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, Conn., in 1917 and subsequently enlisted in the U.S. Army, eventually attaining the rank of second lieutenant.[2]
Legal Career
Mr. Debevoise graduated from Yale University in 1921 and from the Harvard Law School in 1925. After graduation, Eli Whitney Debevoise immediately joined his father’s Manhattan law practice, but later became an associate at Davis Polk & Wardwell, a firm headed by John W. Davis, the Democratic candidate for president in 1924.[3]
In 1931 Eli Whitney Debevoise and William Stevenson, a fellow associate at Davis Polk & Wardwell, formed a partnership under the name Debevoise & Stevenson, which later became Debevoise & Plimpton, with a total of $2,366 in their account. They were soon joined by Francis Plimpton and, in 1936, Robert G. Page. The firm enjoyed early success as counsel to the trustee in the 1932 bankruptcy proceedings of Ivar Kreuger,’s International Match Company.[4] During World War II, Eli Whitney Debevoise was chairman of the Alien Enemy Hearing Board in New York.[5]
During the early 1950s, Eli Whitney Debevoise had many high profile cases and served in many prominent public positions.[6] From 1951 to 1953, Mr. Debevoise served as Deputy High Commissioner for Germany and was general counsel to the Allied Commission that administered Germany’s affairs in the years after World War II.
After returning to the United States, Eli Whitney Debevoise rejoined Debevoise & Plimpton and engaged in a variety of public service and human rights activities. Notably, he was a founder of the International Commission of Jurists, one of the first global human rights organizations. Debevoise also served as chairman of Governor Nelson Rockefeller’s Committee to Review New York Laws and Procedures on Human Rights and helped craft the final report that was delivered in March 1968. Eli Whitney Debevoise retired at the age of 87 and passed away at his home in Manhattan on June 30, 1990.
References
- ^ New York Times Obituary of Eli Whitney Debevoise. "[1]", ' 'The New York Times' ', 1990-7-1. Retrieved on November_11, 2009.
- ^ New York Times Obituary of Eli Whitney Debevoise. "[2]", ' 'The New York Times' ', 1990-7-1. Retrieved on November_11, 2009.
- ^ New York Times Obituary of Eli Whitney Debevoise. "[3]", ' 'The New York Times' ', 1990-7-1. Retrieved on November_11, 2009.
- ^ New York Times Obituary of Eli Whitney Debevoise. "[4]", ' 'The New York Times' ', 1990-7-1. Retrieved on November_11, 2009.
- ^ http://www.archives.gov/genealogy/immigration/enemy-aliens-overview.html
- ^ http://articles.latimes.com/1990-07-02/news/mn-532_1_eli-whitney-debevoise