Nationality American Years active 1963—2001 Cause of death Acute myeloid leukemia | Occupation Businessman Spouse(s) Sally Davidson | |
Full Name Stuart Carleton Davidson Born September 9, 1922 ( 1922-09-09 ) Dayton, Ohio, United States Died 1 August 2001, Oslo, Norway | ||
Stuart C. Davidson (September 9, 1922 – August 1, 2001) was an American businessman known for being the founder of the Clyde's of Georgetown restaurant in Georgetown, Washington, D.C. and the Clyde's Restaurant Group which owns and operates 14 restaurants in the Washington Metropolitan Area.
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Early life
Stuart Carleton Davidson was born to a military family on September 9, 1922, in Dayton, Ohio, the son of Mary Perrine Patterson and General Howard Calhoun Davidson. Stuart's father took the family from one army base to another, but they lived in Washington long enough for Stuart to graduate from St. Alban's Preparatory School. Stuart's father retired from the Air Force in 1946 when Stuart was 22 years old and died on 7 November 1984 (1984-11-07), aged 94. Stuart's maternal grandfather, Frank Patterson, was a founder of the National Cash Register Company, known as the NCR Corporation since 1996.
Clyde's of Georgetown
In May 1962, Stuart, who was then an investment banker, watched with high interest after President John F. Kennedy signed a bill that made it legal for the first time since 1917 to sell hard liquor to patrons standing at bars in the District of Columbia. Soon after, he saw the opportunity to open Clyde's of Georgetown. Clyde's also became the first bar and restaurant business in Georgetown to be open on Sunday, the first to serve brunch and the first in Georgetown to hire women as waiters.
Death
Stuart was on holiday in Norway with his wife and Stuart became ill due to acute myelogenous leukemia while traveling north of the Arctic Circle to see polar bears. He died on August 1, 2001 in an Oslo hospital aged 78.