Remembering alumnus H David Davis on his 100th birthday

Earlier this month, we were delighted to welcome the Davis family back to campus to celebrate the 100th birthday of the late H David Davis (BSc Economics 1942), with a visit to the LSE Library room named in his honour.

Studying at LSE was a pivotal moment in David’s life. He was the first in his family to go to university and, after graduating from LSE with first-class honours, he enrolled for a Master’s at Columbia University in New York. His education enabled a long and successful international career working as a journalist and then for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Bureau of Social Science Research, Trusthouse Forte Hotels, and the World Bank – where he spent the majority of his career. He lived in Paris, New York, London, and Washington DC, and undertook assignments in more than 80 countries.

During his time at LSE, David formed enduring, lifelong friendships with his fellow students, forged in intensive and spirited debate between them and their professors. This tight bond was strengthened when his cohort was sent to Cambridge to escape London during the Second World War. The experience had a profound effect on him and his friends, several of whom went on to become LSE Governors.

David passed away in 1998 and, shortly after his death, his family funded a group study room in the LSE Library in his memory. A neighbouring study room was sponsored by his best friends Lord and Lady Moser both alumni.