Joe Columbus Davis

Background

Joseph Columbus Davis was born in 1919 in Cincinnati, Ohio. His father was Joseph Columbus. His mother, Frances Bond Davis, was a feminist activist who supported the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution of 1920.

Education

He attended Montgomery Bell Academy, where he started playing tennis.

Career

His family moved to Nashville, Tennessee at an early age. Davis was implored to come to Vanderbilt by Doctor Tom Zerfoss. He also played on the Vanderbilt basketball team

His father died during his freshman year at Vanderbilt.

To support his family, he sold tailor-made suits to fraternities on campus. During the Second World War, he joined the United States Navy and served as a Lieutenant, participating in the invasions of Sicily, Salerno and Normandy.

Business

From 1945 to 1955, he worked in the coal mining industry under Justin Potter (1898–1961). In 1955, he started his own coal mining business, Davis Coals, Incorporated., focusing on coal fields in Kentucky, like Justin Potter.

Later, he started the Webster County Coal Corporation, which owned the Dotiki Mine in Clay, Kentucky, the most efficient coal mine in the United States at the time.

In 1971, he sold his mines to Mapco. lieutenant is now owned by Alliance Resource Partners. He sat on the Board of Trustees of his alma mater, Montgomery Bell Academy and Vanderbilt University.

He played golf at the Belle Meade Country Club in Belle Meade, Tennessee.

Legacy

He died of Hodgkin"s disease in 1989. He was inducted in the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in 1976.

The Joe C. Davis Professor of Biomedical Science chair at Vanderbilt University is named for him.

Achievements

• He graduated from Vanderbilt University, where he won 35 titles, including three Southeastern Conference championships, between 1936 and 1942.

Membership

He was a member of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce.