David L. Dodd

David LeFevre Dodd (August 23, 1895 – September 18, 1988) was an American educator, financial analyst, author, economist, and investor. In his student years, Dodd was a protégé and colleague of Benjamin Graham at Columbia Business School. The Wall Street Crash of 1929 (Black Tuesday) almost wiped out Graham, who had started teaching the year before at his alma mater, Columbia. 

The crash inspired Graham to search for a more conservative, safer way to invest. Graham agreed to teach with the stipulation that someone take notes. Dodd, then a young instructor at Columbia, volunteered. Those transcriptions served as the basis for a 1934 book Security Analysis, which galvanized the concept of value investing. It is the longest-running investment text ever published. In 1916, Dodd graduated from High Street School, a high school in Martinsburg, West Virginia, where his father was the principal. 

In 1920, he completed his Bachelor of Science at the University of Pennsylvania. One year later, he received his Master of Science at Columbia University. From 1922 to 1925, Dodd was an instructor of economics at Columbia University. From 1925 to 1930, he became an instructor of finance. From 1926 to 1945, he was in charge of business and economics courses. 

In 1930, he received his Ph.D. from Columbia University. From 1930 to 1938, Dodd was an assistant professor there, from 1938 to 1947, an associate professor, and from 1947 to 1961, a full professor. From 1948 to 1952, he was associate dean at the Columbia Business School. In 1961, he retired as professor emeritus in finance at Columbia University. 

On May 17, 1984, on the 50th anniversary of publishing Security Analysis, Michael I. Sovern, president of Columbia University, awarded Dodd a Doctor of Letters, an honorary degree, for applying financial theories with brilliant results in a highly competitive world of investments. Columbia President Michael Sovern bestowed the honor during Columbia's 230th commencement exercises.

Dodd was a member of the following organizations: American Economic Association, Social Science Research Council (investment committee 1950–1956), American Finance Association (vice president 1946–1947), New York Society of Security Analysts, Beta Gamma Sigma, Phi Gamma Delta, Alpha Kappa Psi, and Phi Chi Theta. At the time of his death, various editions of the book he co-authored, Security Analysis, had sold over 250,000 copies.