William Rhodes Davis

William Rhodes Davis
Born	(1889-02-10) February 10, 1889 Montgomery, Alabama, U.S.
Died	August 1, 1941(1941-08-01) (aged 52) Houston, Texas, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Entrepreneur, oil broker
Known for	Oil enterprises supporting Nazi Germany; involvement in 1940 U.S. elections

William Rhodes Davis (February 10, 1889 – August 1, 1941) was an American entrepreneur whose oil enterprises played a significant role in furthering the strategic objectives of Nazi Germany.

Early years

Born in Montgomery, Alabama into a humble household—his father worked as a police officer—Davis asserted familial ties to Cecil Rhodes and Jefferson Davis, although these claims remain unverified. He initially took on low-level railroad positions before advancing to the role of locomotive engineer.

Davis embarked on his petroleum career in 1913 by establishing a small wildcatting firm in Muskogee, Oklahoma. He served in the U.S. Army during World War I, achieving the rank of second lieutenant upon his discharge in 1920. After the war, he operated as an oil broker based in Tulsa, Oklahoma and became involved in a late-1920s conflict between independent oil producers and Standard Oil regarding land claims in Peru.

German involvement

In 1933, Davis constructed an oil refinery located in Hamburg, Germany, briefly extending his operations into England while maintaining a longer presence in Germany. He brokered agreements that allowed Germany and Italy to accumulate oil reserves prior to World War II by utilizing expropriated Mexican oil supplies until British naval blockades interrupted these activities. Part of his success derived from an introduction to Mexican labor leader Vicente Lombardo Toledano, arranged through his acquaintance John L. Lewis of the CIO.

Davis encountered multiple legal disputes; a British judge once described him as "an unscrupulous and ruthless financier," dismissing his reliability.

In 1940, Davis bypassed restrictions imposed by the Hatch Act of 1939 by financing John L. Lewis's October 23 radio broadcast that criticized President Franklin D. Roosevelt and endorsed Republican Wendell Willkie without Willkie’s consent. Subsequently, Willkie publicly condemned Davis for making disparaging statements.

During the 1940 United States elections, Davis utilized funds provided by the German government—approximately $160,000—to support a Pennsylvania Democratic faction seeking to defeat Senator Joseph Guffey, who was critical of Germany, and to sway the Pennsylvania delegation against Roosevelt at the Democratic National Convention; both initiatives did not succeed. The German government allocated $5 million (in 1940 dollars), held within its embassy, to finance Davis’s operations.

Controversy

In December 1940, Verne Marshall, leader of the No Foreign War Committee, alleged that following a 1939 visit to Germany, Davis presented the U.S. State Department with a peace proposal reflecting the perspectives of Göring and urged President Roosevelt to facilitate mediation among belligerent nations. Marshall criticized Roosevelt for disregarding this initiative; however, many interpreted the plan as essentially a "German peace." The German government denied any association with it.

On December 31, 1940, U.S. Senator Josh Lee (D-OK) denounced Davis’s involvement in founding and funding the No Foreign Wars Committee as "the diabolically cunning betrayal of the American people," accusing him of profiting from gasoline sales to Germany while promoting a deceptive peace agenda favorable to Nazi Germany. Lee characterized the committee as indicative of Nazi infiltration.

Although Davis professed allegiance to the United States and endorsed peace negotiations, he distanced himself from Marshall and the committee while expressing sympathy for their objectives. He requested Senator Burton Wheeler, a prominent isolationist figure, to arrange for him to testify before a Senate committee to counter what he described as "an organized nation-wide campaign ... by financial and competitive interests."

On January 7, 1941, Davis received a subpoena to appear before a Washington grand jury investigating alleged campaign law violations during the 1940 presidential election. That same day, Wheeler scheduled Davis’s testimony before the Senate Interstate Commerce Subcommittee concerning the purported "peace plan." Davis complied with the grand jury summons on January 9.

By mid-1941, Josephus Daniels, former U.S. Ambassador to Mexico with firsthand knowledge of Davis’s dealings in Mexican oil markets, commented on public perceptions surrounding Davis at the outset of his involvement in Mexican oil trading:

Death

William Rhodes Davis passed away from a heart attack in Houston, Texas, on August 1, 1941. At that time, he was at the helm of approximately 20 companies headquartered in New York City, with business operations extending across multiple U.S. states as well as international locations such as Mexico and Sweden.

Allegations of British Involvement

Records from the British Security Coordination office in New York imply that Davis participated in activities aiding Nazi Germany’s maritime endeavors in the Atlantic. It was believed by some that eliminating him would be the fastest method to disrupt these operations. Nevertheless, his biographer determined that Davis most likely succumbed to natural causes despite these speculations.

Posthumous Reputation

Following his death, Davis was identified in Assistant U.S. Attorney General O. John Rogge's Nazi Report as Abwehr operative C-80—classified as an "agent of influence" who was financially supported by Hitler, provided petroleum supplies to Nazi Germany, and sought to influence American political affairs. In 1957, declassified U.S. government documents detailed how Davis funneled Nazi funds into the 1940 United States elections.

Personal Life

In 1909, Davis fathered a son named William Rhodes Jr. with May Tankin; however, there is no formal record of their marriage. William Jr. tragically died in a 1933 airplane accident in Nicaragua while involved in oil exploration activities. Davis later married Pearl Peters in 1921, and they had two sons together: Joseph Graham Davis and Currie Boyd Davis. After divorcing Peters, he wed Marie M. Tomkunas.

By 1941, Peters had remarried and was living in Houston with Currie, while Joseph resided in Bronxville, New York, and was engaged to Doris Jane Meyer. Meanwhile, Davis and Marie were neighbors in Scarsdale, New York. Upon his death, Davis bequeathed $100,000 to Peters and placed the remainder of his estate—estimated between $5 and $10 million—into a trust. Half of the trust’s income was allocated to Marie, with the remainder divided between his two sons; they were to receive their shares upon reaching age 30 and following their stepmother’s passing. Erna Frieda Wehrle, his longtime secretary, assumed the role of chairman at Davis & Co., Inc.

Joseph Graham Davis married Doris Meyer on November 29, 1941; their eldest son, Joseph Graham "Gray" Davis Jr., later served as Governor of California from 1999 until 2003.

Sources

• Dale Harrington, Mystery Man: William Rhodes Davis, Nazi Agent of Influence (Brassey's, 2001)