Bettman, Alfred, 1873-1945

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City planner.

From the description of Alfred Bettman papers, 1910-1945. (Cornell University Library). WorldCat record id: 64074394

Alfred Bettman was a city planner.

From the guide to the Alfred Bettman Papers, 1910-1945, (Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library)

Alfred Bettman, prominent lawyer and city planner, was born in 1873 in Cincinnati, Ohio to Louis and Rebecca (Bloom) Bettman. He attended Harvard University where he received both his undergraduate degree and his law degree. After completing his education in 1898, Bettman returned to Cincinnati and began practicing law. In 1904, he married Lillian Wyler. They had no children.

Bettman quickly began to use his legal skills to assist the City of Cincinnati. In 1909, he became Assistant Prosecuting Attorney for Hamilton County, Ohio, and in 1912, Bettman was appointed as Cincinnati City Solicitor by Democratic Mayor Henry T. Hunt. While Bettman worked in this position, his interest in City Planning steadily increased. In 1914, he helped to found the United City Planning Committee, and in 1917, he drafted legislation that would allow Ohio cities to create city and regional planning boards.

With the outbreak of World War I, Bettman was appointed as a Special Assistant to the Attorney General of the United States in the War Emergency Division of the Department of the Justice, where he prosecuted cases involving the Espionage Act. He resigned this position at the end of the war, and rejoined his law firm in Cincinnati. After returning to Cincinnati, Bettman became further involved with city planning. He became a member of the City Planning Commission of Cincinnati, helped to establish the Ohio State Conference on City Planning, was a member of the Advisory Committee on Housing and Zoning for the United States Department of Commerce, and a consultant for the National Resources Planning Board. He also served as Director of the American Planning Institute and was a member of the American Society of Planning Officials and the British Town Planning Institute.

Bettman worked to ensure that city planning measures were regulated nationally. He assisted in drafting the Standard State Enabling Act in 1924 and the Standard City Planning Enabling Act of 1927. He also worked to uphold the constitutionality of zoning by writing the brief for the Village of Euclid v. Ambler Realty Company in 1926. Throughout the remainder of his career, he served on many boards and committees including the Cincinnati Planning Commission, the Ohio Valley Planning Commission, the American City Planning Institute, the National Conference on City Planning, the American Society of Planning Officials, and the National Resources Planning Board. Bettman also served as the United States representative on the executive committee of the International Congress for Housing and Town Planning. He was appointed to the City Planning Committee of President Hoover's conference on Home Building and Home Ownership. He also served as legal advisor to the commission that developed the Tennessee Valley Authority, and legal counsel of the National Capital Park and Planning Commission. Bettman died in January of 1945 while returning to Cincinnati from Washington, D.C.

Sources: Gerkens, Laurence C. "Bettman of Cincinnati" In The American Planner: Biographies and Recollections, edited by Donald A. Krueckeberg, 120-148. New York: Methuen, 1983. Lubove, Roy. "Alfred Bettman." Dictionary of American Biography, Supplement 3: 1941-1945 . American Council of Learned Societies, 1973. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. 2009. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC (acessed January 6, 2009). Orth, John V. "Bettman, Alfred." American National Biography Online. Feb. 2000. http://www.anb.org/articles/11/11-00056.html (accessed January 5, 2009). Shapiro, Marsha, "The Bettman Papers at the University of Cincinnati." unpublished paper, no date.

From the guide to the Alfred Bettman papers, 1910-1945, 1910-1945, (University of Cincinnati, Archives and Rare Books Library)

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
referencedIn Jefferson Cleveland Grinnalds papers, 1908-1966, 1920-1960 Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library.
creatorOf Pound, Roscoe, 1870-1964. Preliminary reports and notes of the Wickersham Commission, 1929-1931. Harvard Law School Library Langdell Hall Cambridge, MA 02138
referencedIn Black, Russell Van Nest, 1893-1969. Russell Van Nest Black papers, 1919-1968. Cornell University Library
creatorOf Bettman, Alfred, 1873-1945. Alfred Bettman papers, 1910-1945. Cornell University Library
referencedIn Glueck, Sheldon, 1896-1980. Papers of Sheldon Glueck, 1916-1972 (inclusive). Harvard Law School Library Langdell Hall Cambridge, MA 02138
referencedIn Papers, 1929-1931 Harvard Law School Library Langdell Hall Cambridge, MA 02138
referencedIn Records, 1928-1931 Harvard Law School Library Langdell Hall Cambridge, MA 02138
referencedIn Papers, 1926-1931 Harvard Law School Library Langdell Hall Cambridge, MA 02138
referencedIn Paul Oppermann papers, 1926-1964. Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library.
creatorOf Alfred Bettman papers, 1910-1945, 1910-1945 University of Cincinnati, Archives and Rare Books Library
referencedIn Grinnalds, Jefferson C. (Jefferson Cleveland), 1884-1966. Jefferson Cleveland Grinnalds papers, 1908-1966, 1920-1960 (bulk). Cornell University Library
referencedIn Learned Hand papers Harvard Law School Library Langdell Hall Cambridge, MA 02138
referencedIn Oppermann, Paul, 1903-1977. Paul Oppermann papers, 1926-1964. Cornell University Library
referencedIn Van Waters, Miriam, 1887-1974. Papers of Miriam Van Waters, 1926-1931 (inclusive). Harvard Law School Library Langdell Hall Cambridge, MA 02138
referencedIn Sheldon Glueck papers Harvard Law School Library Langdell Hall Cambridge, MA 02138
creatorOf Alfred Bettman Papers, 1910-1945 Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library.
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith American Bar Association. corporateBody
associatedWith American Institute of Planners. corporateBody
associatedWith Better Housing Authority (Cincinnati, Ohio) corporateBody
associatedWith Black, Russell Van Nest, 1893-1969. person
associatedWith Cincinnati (Ohio). City Planning Commission. corporateBody
associatedWith Cincinnati (Ohio). Metropolitan Housing Authority. corporateBody
associatedWith Glueck, Sheldon, 1896-1980. person
associatedWith Grinnalds, Jefferson C. (Jefferson Cleveland), 1884-1966. person
associatedWith Hand, Learned, 1872-1961 person
associatedWith Maryland. National Park and Planning Commission. corporateBody
associatedWith Max Lowenthal person
associatedWith Oppermann, Paul, 1903- person
associatedWith Oppermann, Paul, 1903-1977. person
associatedWith Pound, Roscoe, 1870-1964. person
associatedWith Regional Planning Commission (Hamilton Co., Ohio) corporateBody
associatedWith Tennessee Valley Authority. corporateBody
associatedWith United States. Dept. of Commerce. Advisory Committee on Planning and Zoning. corporateBody
associatedWith United States. Dept. of Justice. War Emergency Division corporateBody
associatedWith United States. Federal Reserve. corporateBody
associatedWith United States. National Capital Park and Planning Commission. corporateBody
associatedWith United States. National Resources Planning Board. corporateBody
associatedWith United States. Resettlement Administration. corporateBody
associatedWith United States Wickersham Commission corporateBody
associatedWith Van Waters, Miriam, 1887-1974. person
Place Name Admin Code Country
Tennessee
Kentucky
Indiana
Alabama
Illinois
Puerto Rico
Cincinnati (Ohio)
Wisconsin
West Virginia
Subject
Cincinnati (Ohio)
City planners
City planning
City planning
City planning
City planning
City planning
City planning
City planning
City planning
City planning
City planning
City planning and redevelopment law
Espionage
Housing
Regional planning
Regional planning
World War, 1914-1918
Zoning
Zoning law
Occupation
Activity

Person

Birth 1873

Death 1945

Information

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