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Professor Emeritus of Law David Benson Weaver was born in 1921 in Cleveland, Ohio. He received his B.A. from Ohio Wesleyan University (1943), then enlisted in the U.S. Army in May, 1943, following the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. After basic training, he was sent to the University of Nebraska to study German language and culture before joining the 144th Infantry Regiment. His unit was sent to Normandy in August, 1943, and saw action in France, Germany, and Austria. Professor Weaver served as a member of the Intelligence and Reconnaissance Platoon.
After the end of the Second World War, Professor Weaver earned his law degree from Case Western Reserve (1948), then was in private practice in Cleveland (1948-1949) before deciding that the philosophical and theoretical aspects of the law were of greater interest to him than engaging in its practice. He joined GW Law as an assistant professor in 1953, becoming a full professor in 1958.
Professor Weaver taught a wide range of courses, including Federal Income Taxation, Trusts and Estates, and Community Property. His published work was mainly in wills, taxation, and corporations. He co-authored Wills of the U.S. Presidents (1976), which reproduces the wills of all the presidents who died testate (to Lyndon Johnson), along with biographical material and notes. It is widely-held by U.S. academic libraries.
He held several visiting professorships in other law schools, including the University of Virginia (1961-1962), University of Helsinki (spring 1975, visiting lecturer), and Washington University (1976). He was a consultant for the U.S. Treasury Department (1961-1964) and the Joint Committee on Internal Revenue Taxation, U.S. Congress (1966). He was awarded the Emil Brown Fund Preventive Law Prize in 1968.
Professor Weaver was an active member of the faculty who served on a number of committees, and was involved in the life of the Law School, even beyond his retirement. He established the Thelma Weaver Memorial Award in memory of his first wife, which is given each year to the foreign student in the graduating Master of Laws class who has contributed the most to the intellectual and professional life of the Law School, its students, and its faculty.
Professor Weaver retired from the law faculty in 1986 after thirty-seven years of service to the Law School, and was conferred the status of Professor Emeritus of Law.
Professor Weaver died October 6, 2013, in Alexandria, Virginia.
Interviewer:
Jennie C. Meade, Director of Special Collections
Interview Date/Location:
Friday, April 27, 2012, in the Dean's Parlor at GW Law.