Looking Back
From the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History
accessible at www.djnfoundation.org
70 | DECEMBER 29 • 2022
The Amazing Mr. D.
I
never met the man, and I dearly wish
I would have had the honor to do so.
Nearly every day, however, I think
of Bill Davidson. This is because I so
often enter the online archive named
for him, the William Davidson Digital
Archive of Jewish Detroit History,
which the Davidson Foundation
generously funded. To say the least, at
the Detroit Jewish News,
we are extremally grateful
for his legacy of giving. We
also know we do not stand
alone in our sentiments.
On Dec. 5, William “Bill”
Davidson would have been
100 years old. Davidson
was one of the all-time
great leaders and philanthropists from
Detroit’s Jewish community. He was not
only an extremely gifted businessman,
who developed one of the top global
suppliers to the automotive industry, but
Davidson also used much of his wealth
to do good in Metro Detroit, America
and Israel.
In the Davidson Archive, I found
1,317 pages that cite William Davidson,
including 15 cover pages; 297 of
those pages cite “Bill” Davidson. A
few references are for other William
Davidsons, but when searching for
“Bill” Davidson, he is the one and only.
The title of a documentary film made by
his son, Ethan, says it all: “Call Me Bill”
(April 4, 2019, JN). I’ll honor his wishes
going forward in this column.
Bill has a large presence in the
historical pages of the JN. The number
of mentions of him are only surpassed
by another legendary Jewish Detroit
leader, Max Fisher.
While Bill was a really great
businessman, he never forgot his
heritage, his community or Israel.
Indeed, I can only refer to a meager few
of his good works because to cite them
all would take pages and pages … and
more pages.
Just pick a subject and you’ll likely
find Bill’s name attached to it. For
example, take sports. Bill owned
several professional sports teams,
including Detroit’s National Basketball
Association team, the Detroit Pistons.
He was the chief developer of the Palace
of Auburn Hills, the longtime home
for the Pistons, which was also one of
Detroit’s premier concert arenas for
many years. Bill was inducted into the
Michigan Sports Hall of Fame in 2004
and was one of the first inductees into
the Michigan Jewish Sport Hall of Fame
in 1985.
Now try education. Bill sought to
strengthen Judaism through education.
See “Champion of Learning,” the cover
story for the May 12, 2005, JN.
Support for Israel? See the story about
Technion University naming an MBA
program after Bill (July 15, 2021) or the
substantial report “Bill’s Dreams Live
On” in the Oct. 11, 2012, issue of the
JN.
For a comprehensive report on Bill’s
massive philanthropic efforts, read
“Down-to-Earth Philanthropist” in
the March 19, 2009, JN. The article is
accompanied by JN editor Robert Sklar’s
tribute to Bill, “The Amazing Mr. D.”
Bill’s legacy does live on. The proof
of this for us at the Jewish News
Foundation is the generous funding
provided by the Davidson Foundation
for the creation of the online archive
named in his honor.
Bill’s legacy is tremendous. He was
a mensch of the highest order. I hope
I honor his memory every week when
I use the William Davidson Digital
Archive of Jewish Detroit History for
my Looking Back columns.
Want to learn more? Go to the DJN Foundation
archives, available for free at www.djnfoundation.
org.
Mike Smith
Alene and
Graham Landau
Archivist Chair