Summary
Dan David (Hebrew: דן דוד; 23 May 1929 – 6 September 2011) was a Romanian-born Israeli businessman and philanthropist.
Dan David | |
|---|---|
| Born | 23 May 1929 |
| Died | 9 June 2011 |
| Nationality | Israeli |
| Known for | businessman and philanthropist. |
Biography edit
Dan David was born to a Jewish family in Bucharest, Romania. He joined a Zionist youth movement at the age of 16. After studying economics at university, he worked for Romanian television and became a press photographer. In 1958, his newspaper asked him to travel to West Germany on an assignment. When he requested an exit permit, he was accused of being a Zionist activist and was fired from his job.[1]
He left Romania for Paris in August 1960, later settling in Israel. The following year, he traveled to Europe.
Business career edit
With a $200,000 loan from a cousin, he won the franchise for Photo-Me International automated photography booths in certain countries. He opened branches in Israel, Spain, Romania and Italy, eventually taking over the company.[3] When David was chairman[4] of Photo-Me in 1999, his and board-member Serge Crasnianski's shares were valued at 210 and 200 million pounds, respectively.[5]
Dan David Prize edit
In 2000, David founded the Dan David Foundation with a $100 million endowment. The Foundation awards the Dan David Prize (first awarded in 2002), which is headquartered at Tel Aviv University. For its first 20 years, the prize consisted of three 1$ million awards granted in rotating fields of the sciences and the humanities. [6] In 2021, the Foundation announced[7] it was redesigning the prize to focus on history and other disciplines that study the past, granting up to nine awards of $300,000 to early- and mid-career researchers in those fields.[8]
Commemoration edit
The Dan David Center for Human Evolution and Biohistory Research was inaugurated on 25 November 2018, in Dan David's memory.[9] The Center is affiliated with both the Sackler Faculty of Medicine and the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History, where its laboratories and facilities encompass over 1200 meters squared.[10] The facilities include a micro-CT as well as histological and ancient DNA laboratories.[11] The Center also houses Israel's national fossil collection,[12] and a museum exhibit on human biological and cultural evolution.[13]
References edit
- ^ "Businessman-philanthropist Dan David dies in London". Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 7 September 2011.
- ^ Businessman-philanthropist Dan David dies in London
- ^ "The true worth of Dan David". Haaretz. Retrieved 2 February 2010.
- ^ Cope, Nigel (5 August 2000). "Institutions demand a boardroom clear-out at Photo-Me". The Independent. Retrieved 15 September 2010.
Dan David, the 71-year-old chairman... Serge Crasnianski, the chief executive
- ^ "Business: The Economy UK Net millionaires boom". BBC News. 3 October 1999. Retrieved 15 September 2010.
- ^ "The Prize 2001 - 2021". Dan David Prize. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
- ^ "Dan David Prize relaunches, now the world's largest history award". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. 2 September 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
- ^ "The Prize". Dan David Prize. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
- ^ "Dan David Center for Human Evolution and Biohistory". Tel Aviv University News and Events. Tel Aviv University. 2 December 2018. Archived from the original on 8 May 2019. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
- ^ "About the Dan David Center". Dan David Center for Human Evolution and Biohistory Research. Archived from the original on 28 May 2019.
- ^ "Facilities". Dan David Center for Human Evolution and Biohistory Research. Archived from the original on 28 May 2019.
- ^ "Collection". Dan David Center for Human Evolution and Biohistory Research. Archived from the original on 28 May 2019.
- ^ "What makes us Human?". Steinhardt Museum of Natural History. Archived from the original on 28 May 2019. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
External links edit
- The Dan David Foundation
- Official Dan David Prize website
- Complete list of all laureates by year