Kenneth Culp Davis

Background

Kenneth Davis was born on December 19, 1908, in Leeton, Missouri. He was the son of Samuel and Charlotte Davis.

Education

Kenneth Davis completed his Bachelor of Arts at Whitman College in 1931 before receiving a law degree from Harvard in 1934.

Career

After education, Kenneth Davis had a legal practice in Cleveland. Then, he joined the faculty of West Virginia University in 1935 as an assistant professor. After it, Davis worked for the Department of Justice from 1939 to 1940, before to return to teaching. So, he started to work at the University of Texas as a professor. He served at Harvard University in 1948-1950, the University of Minnesota in 1950-1961, the University of Chicago in 1961-1976, and the University of San Diego. Davis retired in 1994.

Additionally, Kenneth Davis was a writer. During his career, he published more than eight dozen scholarly articles in national law journals. His Administrative Law is considered the foundation for students and practitioners of this field of law and is still referred to today. Other publications included his four-volume Administrative Law Treatise, Administrative Law and Government, and Administrative Law of the Eighties. Davis was also the author of the influential monographs Discretionary Justice: A Preliminary Inquiry and Police Discretion. Significantly, his legal expertise was relied on to help write the federal Administrative Procedure Act of 1946, which governs the relations between federal administrative agencies and the businesses and people they oversee. His body of work earned him the moniker "the father of administrative law."

Achievements

• Kenneth Davis was widely known as an educator and writer. He taught for almost sixteen years in educational institutions such as West Virginia University, University of Texas, Harvard University, and others. Besides, Davis was widely credited as the creator of the field of administrative law. As a writer, his work included more than eight dozen scholarly articles in national law journals. The Yale Biographical Dictionary of American Law referred to his Treatise as the "canonical reference" of Administrative Law in 2009.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Administrative Law and Government

    (The second edition of Administrative Law and Government.)

    1975
  • Administrative Law Treaties

    (The second edition of Administrative Law Treatise.)

    1978
  • Administrative Law Treatise

    (The third edition of Administrative Law Treatise.)

    1994
  • Discretionary Justice 1969
  • Police Discretion 1975
  • Administrative Law of the Eighties 1989

Personality

Quotes from others about the person

• Bill Funk: "Davis' shadow falls over virtually all that administrative lawyers do. To say he was a giant in his field is like saying Mountain Everest is a big mountain."

Connections

Kenneth Davis's first wife was Carol Davis. They married on June 20, 1934. Then Davis married Inger Davis on June 14, 1962. Kenneth Davis had two children: Malcolm Fletcher and Margaret Lynn.

Father:

Samuel Houston Davis

Mother:

Charlotte Davis

Charlotte Davis's maiden name was Culp.

ex-wife:

Carol Davis

Carol Davis was Kenneth Davis's first wife. Her maiden name was Seeds.

Wife:

Inger Davis

Inger Davis's maiden name was Pedersen.

Daughter:

Margaret Lynn Davis

Son:

Malcolm Fletcher Davis