Curtis Bean Dall | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1896-10-24)October 24, 1896 New York City,New York, U.S |
| Died | June 28, 1991(1991-06-28) (aged 94) Beaufort, South Carolina, U.S. |
| Occupation | Stockbroker,Vice-Presidential candidate and author |
| Nationality | American |
| Notable works | F.D.R.: My Exploited Father-in-Law (1967) |
| Spouse | |
| Children | |
Curtis Bean Dall (October 24, 1896 – June 28, 1991) was an American stockbroker,Vice-Presidential candidate, author, and the first husband ofAnna Eleanor Roosevelt, daughter ofFranklin Delano Roosevelt andEleanor Roosevelt.
Curtis Bean Dall was born in New York City, the son of Charles Austin and Mary (Bean) Dall, and grew up on a farm inPiscataway, New Jersey. He attendedPrinceton University,[1] and became a stockbroker.[2] He marriedAnna Eleanor Roosevelt, daughter ofFranklin D. Roosevelt andEleanor Roosevelt, in 1926. Since Dall was prominent in Wall Street circles, his relationship with his in-laws was tense, but he wrote that he always got along well with FDR.[2] The Dalls had two children—Anna Eleanor Roosevelt Dall ("Sistie", born 1927) andCurtis Roosevelt Dall ("Buzzie", 1930-2016). Curtis and Anna Roosevelt Dall were divorced in July 1934.[3]
In World War I, Dall was commissioned an ensign in naval aviation and served in France, witnessing PresidentWoodrow Wilson's arrival inBrest. In World War II, Colonel Dall served stateside inArmy Air Forces staff positions.[4] Although initially attempting to be loyal to the Roosevelt White House, irreconcilable philosophical and temperamental differences soon became apparent. By the time FDR became president, Anna already wanted to end the marriage, but due to image concerns agreed to allow brotherElliott Roosevelt to get "the first White House divorce" in 1933.[5] Afterwards Dall was allowed limited contact with the Roosevelt family and Anna's two children with him.[6] After the war, Dall moved to Texas and gradually became involved with right-wing fringe elements.
Curtis Dall is most well known in recent times for his bookF.D.R.: My Exploited Father-in-Law, in which he speaks of hisex-father-in-law, and his relationship with, as he saw them, the corrupt power of the banking elite of the time. In reference to theGreat Depression of the 1930s he states: "Actually it was the calculated 'shearing' of the public by the World Money-Powers, triggered by the planned sudden shortage of the supply ofcall money in the New York money market."
Dall's short memoir adds little to the history of theNew Deal and skips over his relationship with Anna.Eleanor Roosevelt's and Anna's correspondence reveals that they loathed Dall, who admitted to be on acerbic terms withLouis Howe and other FDR advisers. The subtitle,My Exploited Father-in-Law, refers to Dall's belief that sinister forces, represented in part by Howe,Bernard Baruch,Louis Brandeis,Felix Frankfurter, andHenry Morgenthau, manipulated FDR in the service of the "Godless Dictatorship" of the "One-Money-One-World-Super State".[7]
Dall became convinced that an evil global conspiracy, which he traced back to theIlluminati, secretly controlled history for its own enrichment. He wrote: "I have depicted the "Goliath," here, and I have fashioned "A Stone for Goliath," as it were...Behold it: theFederal Reserve Board with its shadowy new international counterparts, theCouncil on Foreign Relations (CFR),Prince Bernhard's farflungBilderberg Group and lastly their discredited stooge, the self-describedUnited Nations."[8]
Dall's memoir contains historically interesting details of his conversations with CommanderGeorge Earle, who while serving inIstanbul in 1943 attempted to negotiate a separate peace with Germany'sWilhelm Canaris andFranz von Papen; and with AdmiralHusband Kimmel, who believed he was deliberately set up by the White House atPearl Harbor.[9]
Dall was the chairman of the board of theAmalgamated Broadcasting System.[10]
Dall became involved with the "racist Right's ill-fated efforts at forming a third party" in 1960,[11] when the Texas-basedConstitution Party put-up retired Marine Corps Brigadier GeneralMerritt B. Curtis for president, and Dall for vice-president.
In 1968, his name was filed for theNew Hampshire primary. He was then a member of theChristian Crusade National Advisory Board and Chairman of "Liberty Lobby" Board of Policy.[4] In 1971, he was Chairman of theLiberty Lobby.[1]
He died inArlington, Virginia in 1991, aged 94.[12]
