George Bannerman Dealey (September 18, 1859 – February 26, 1946) was a

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...

, businessman. Dealey was the long-time

publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

of ''

The Dallas Morning News ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885 by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ''Galvesto ...

'' and owner of the

A. H. Belo Corporation DallasNews Corporation, formerly A. H. Belo Corporation (), is a Dallas-based media holding company of The Dallas Morning News and Belo + Company. The current corporation was formed when Belo Corporation separated its broadcasting and publi ...

. A plaza in Dallas is named in his honor, and became instantly world-famous when it became the site of the

assassination of John F. Kennedy John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, was assassinated on Friday, November 22, 1963, at 12:30 p.m. CST in Dallas, Texas, while riding in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza. Kennedy was in the vehicle with ...

in 1963.

Childhood

Dealey was born on September 18, 1859, at the home of his parents, George Dealey (1829–1894) and Mary Ann Nellins (1829–1913), on Queen St.,

Rusholme Rusholme () is an area of Manchester, England, two miles south of the city centre. The population of the ward at the 2011 census was 13,643. Rusholme is bounded by Chorlton-on-Medlock to the north, Victoria Park and Longsight to the east, Fallo ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

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. He was the fifth of 10 children. In the mid-1860s the family moved to

Liverpool, England Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

, where he began his schooling and worked as a grocer's apprentice. In 1870 his family immigrated to

Galveston, Texas Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Galvesto ...

, where he continued in public school and worked at various odd jobs.

Newspaper career

On October 12, 1874, he assumed an older brother's job as office boy at '' The Galveston News'' at $3.00 per week, for the owner, Alfred H. Belo. Dealey took evening classes at the Island City Business College and rose steadily at the News. As traveling correspondent, he sent both news stories and newspaper-business reports back to Galveston. In 1884, he determined that Dallas would be the best market for a new Belo company newspaper. In 1885, ''The Dallas Morning News'' debuted. He became the paper's manager in 1895, a board member in 1902, vice president and general manager of the corporation in 1906, and president in 1919. Dealey refused advertising that he considered dishonest or immoral, including ads for hard liquor. He refused ads for oilfield ventures, since he could not determine which were sound businesses. The News also opposed the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...

's influence in the 1920s. Dealey also owned the ''G. B. Dealey Land Co.'' and the ''West Commerce Realty Co.'' He founded an early newspaper-owned radio station,

WFAA WFAA (channel 8) is a television station licensed to Dallas, Texas, United States, serving the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex as an affiliate of ABC. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside Decatur-licensed Estrella TV affiliate KMPX (channel 29), ...

, in 1922. In 1926, Dealey bought ''The Dallas Morning News'', the ''Journal'' (an evening edition), the ''Semi-Weekly Farm News'', and the ''

Texas Almanac The Texas Almanac is a biennially published reference work providing information for the general public on the history of the US state of Texas and its people, government and politics, economics, natural resources, holidays, culture, education, rec ...

'' from the heirs of A. H. Belo, along with a majority of the company stock.

Civic activities

Under Dealey, the News was enlisted in the cause of civic planning. A campaign of 1899 led to the foundation of the ''Cleaner Dallas League'', which became the ''Dallas Civic Improvement League'' in 1902. He was instrumental in the adoption of the 1910

Kessler Plan The Kessler Plan was the City of Dallas’s managed growth plan from 1910 through the 1930s, authored by George Kessler, a city planner. The Plan was intended to create and contain the Dallas Floodway of the Trinity River, and combine the six rail ...

to improve Dallas and provide for its growth. He helped establish

Southern Methodist University , mottoeng = "The truth will make you free" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = SACS , academic_affiliations = , religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church , president = R. Gerald Turner , prov ...

and was instrumental in bringing a

Federal Reserve The Federal Reserve System (often shortened to the Federal Reserve, or simply the Fed) is the central banking system of the United States of America. It was created on December 23, 1913, with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, after a ...

branch to Dallas. Dealey served on the board of governors of the American City Planning Institute (1920–21), as vice president of the

National Municipal League The National Civic League is an American nonpartisan, non-profit organization founded in 1894 with a mission to advance civic engagement to create equitable, thriving communities. The League envisions a country where the full diversity of communi ...

(1923–24), on the advisory council of the American Planning and Civic Association, and on the national committee of the

Commission on Interracial Cooperation The Commission on Interracial Cooperation (1918–1944) was an organization founded in Atlanta, Georgia, December 18, 1918, and officially incorporated in 1929. Will W. Alexander, pastor of a local white Methodist church, was head of the organizatio ...

. He was a director of the Children's Hospital of Texas and was president of the Family Bureau, a Dallas social agency, from its inception in 1908. He was also president of the ''Philosophical Society of Texas'', a member of the ''Texas Press Association'', an honorary life member of the

Texas State Historical Association The Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) is a non-profit educational organization, dedicated to documenting the history of Texas. It was founded in Austin, Texas, on March 2, 1897. , TSHA moved their offices from Austin to the University of N ...

, founder (1922) and lifetime president (from 1933) of the

Dallas Historical Society The Dallas Historical Society is an organization dedicated to the history of Dallas, Texas (USA). It was organized on March 31, 1922, by citizens who wished to encourage historical inquiry. In 1938, the Society assumed the management of the Hall o ...

, and second vice president of the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

(1923–24). He had honorary roles with

Sigma Delta Chi The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), formerly known as Sigma Delta Chi, is the oldest organization representing journalists in the United States. It was established on April 17, 1909, at DePauw University,2009 SPJ Annual Report, letter ...

(1940–41) and

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...

(1943). He received honorary doctoral degrees from Southern Methodist University (1921), Austin College (1924), and the University of Missouri (1925), the last of which invited him to accept a gift to its school of journalism from the British Empire Press Union.

Dealey Plaza Dealey Plaza is a city park in the West End Historic District of downtown Dallas, Texas. It is sometimes called the "birthplace of Dallas". It was also the location of the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963; 30 minutes after the shooting ...

in Downtown Dallas was named for him upon commencement of its construction in 1934 (for the 1936

Texas Centennial The Texas Centennial Exposition was a world's fair presented from June 6 to November 29, 1936, at Fair Park, Dallas, Texas. A celebration of the 100th anniversary of Texas's independence from Mexico in 1836, it also celebrated Texas and Western Uni ...

). He initially thought to decline the honor, but was persuaded to accept it by his son. A of G.B. Dealey was made and erected in Dealey Plaza in 1949.

Personal life

He married Olivia Allen at her home in

Lexington, Missouri Lexington is a city in and the county seat of Lafayette County, Missouri. The population was 4,726 at the 2010 census. Located in western Missouri, Lexington lies approximately east of Kansas City and is part of the Greater Kansas City Metropol ...

, on April 9, 1884. She was born in Lexington on November 14, 1863, and died at her home in Dallas on January 28, 1960. She had succeeded her husband as chairman of the board of

and was serving in that capacity when she died. The Dealeys had three daughters and two sons. The sons were Walter Allen Dealey and Edward Musgrove (Ted) Dealey. Ted Dealey succeeded his father as publisher of the ''Morning News''. A younger brother, James Q. Dealey (1861–1937), was a professor of political science at

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

and later editor of the ''Morning News''. A nephew,

Samuel David Dealey Samuel David Dealey (September 13, 1906 – August 24, 1944) was the commanding officer of a United States Navy submarine killed in action with his crew during World War II. Among American service members, he is among the most decorated for valo ...

(1906–1944), was a World War II naval submarine officer who received the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...

and for whom the

USS Dealey (DE-1006) USS ''Dealey'' (DE-1006), the lead ship of her class of destroyer escort, was a ship of the United States Navy in commission from 1954 to 1972 and named for Commander Samuel D. Dealey (1906–1944), who was awarded the Medal of Honor as comman ...

was named. James M. Moroney III, publisher of the ''Morning News'' from 2001–2018 and current chief executive of the A.H. Belo Corporation, is Dealey's great-grandson. Another grandson, Dr. Walter Allen (Al) Dealey Jr. became a Christian minister and studied under

Norman Vincent Peale Norman Vincent Peale (May 31, 1898 – December 24, 1993) was an American Protestant clergyman, and an author best known for popularizing the concept of positive thinking, especially through his best-selling book ''The Power of Positive ...

. Dealey was a Thirty-third-degree Scottish Rite Mason, Knight Templar, Shriner, and member of the Red Cross of Constantine. He was a Presbyterian and Democrat. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' called him the "dean of American newspaper publishers." He was still working as a publisher when he died of a massive

coronary occlusion A coronary occlusion is the partial or complete obstruction of blood flow in a coronary artery. This condition may cause a heart attack. In some patients coronary occlusion causes only mild pain, tightness or vague discomfort which may be ignored ...

at his Dallas home, February 26, 1946, at the age of 86. He was buried in Grove Hill Cemetery in Dallas.

Legacy

* The New York Times called him the Dean of American Publishers. * The

Dallas Independent School District The Dallas Independent School District (Dallas ISD or DISD) is a school district based in Dallas, Texas (USA). It operates schools in much of Dallas County and is the second-largest school district in Texas and the seventeenth-largest in the U ...

(DISD) operates George Bannerman Dealey Montessori School, a PK-8 school named for him and located in the Preston Royal area of north Dallas.

References

External links

George Bannerman Dealey
in ''

Handbook of Texas The ''Handbook of Texas'' is a comprehensive encyclopedia of Texas geography, history, and historical persons published by the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). History The original ''Handbook'' was the brainchild of TSHA President Wal ...

'' Online
E. M. (Ted) Dealey
in ''

'' Online
Joseph MacDonald Dealey
in ''

'' Online
James Q. Dealey
in ''

'' Online
Samuel David Dealey
in ''

'' Online
''Dallas Morning News''
in ''

'' Online * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dealey, George 1859 births 1946 deaths American newspaper publishers (people) Businesspeople from Dallas People from Rusholme English emigrants to the United States The Dallas Morning News people Journalists from Texas