John C. Bell (lawyer)

{{about|the Pennsylvania Attorney General|his son, the Pennsylvania Governor|John C. Bell Jr.|other people|John Bell (disambiguation){{!}}John Bell}}

{{infobox officeholder

|name=John Cromwell Bell

|image=JohnCBell-by-JulianStory-CROP.jpg

|caption=From a portrait by Julian Story, {{circa|1918}}

|office=District Attorney of Philadelphia

|predecessor = John Weaver

|successor = Samuel P. Rotan

|term_start = 1903

|term_end = 1907

|office2 = 45th Attorney General of Pennsylvania

|governor2 = John K. Tener

|predecessor2 = Moses Hampton Todd

|successor2 = Francis Shunk Brown

|term_start2 = January 17, 1911

|term_end2 = January 19, 1915

|birth_date = {{Birth date|1861|10|03}}{{Efn|Some sources, including the New York Times obituary and the University of Pennsylvania, state or imply 1861. His "official" state biography in The Pennsylvania Manual while he was state Attorney General gives 1862.}}

|birth_place = Elders Ridge, West Lebanon, Pennsylvania

|death_date = {{Death date and age|1935|12|29|1861|10|03}}

|death_place = Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

|alma_mater = University of Philadelphia

|spouse = {{Marriage|Fleurette de Benneville Keim Myers|1890|1916|end=d.}}

|children = {{plainlist|

}}

John Cromwell Bell (October 3, 1861 – December 29, 1935) was a distinguished Pennsylvania lawyer, serving as a District Attorney for Philadelphia and state Attorney General.

He was closely involved with football and his alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania. He served as director of Penn's athletic program, chairman of its football committee, and from 1911 onwards, was a trustee. He helped found the NCAA, and served on Intercollegiate Football Rules Committee, responsible for the many rules changes made in collegiate football in its early years.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune/18468337/ |newspaper=Chicago Daily Tribune|title=How the Game of Football is Now Played|page=33|date=September 20, 1896|id={{ProQuest|175490739}} |access-date=2023-06-20 |via=Newspapers.com}}{{cite news|newspaper=Washington Post|date=April 30, 1900|title=Football Rules Revised|page=8|id={{ProQuest|144200114}}}}{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-new-york-times-football-solons-meet/126800141/ |newspaper=The New York Times|title=Football Solons Meet to Adopt Rules Today|page=7|date=January 27, 1908|id={{ProQuest|96606824}} |access-date=2023-06-20 |via=Newspapers.com}}{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-new-york-times-forward-pass-to-be-ch/126799713/ |newspaper=The New York Times|title=Forward Pass to be Changed Today|page=7|date=January 25, 1908|id={{ProQuest|96837470}} |access-date=2023-06-20 |via=Newspapers.com}}

Personal life

His family moved to Philadelphia when he was fourteen.Warwick, p. 397. Bell attended Central High, graduating in 1880 (with an A.B.) and then the University of Pennsylvania Law School, receiving an LL.B. in 1884.General Alumni Catalogue, p. 435.

At Penn, he played halfback on the football team for three years.

He married Fleurette de Benneville Keim Myers, daughter of Leonard Myers, a former Congressman, in 1890.Warwick, p. 398. They had two sons. The elder, John Cromwell, had a distinguished career as attorney, governor, and judge. The younger, de Benneville, known as Bert, had a distinguished career as football team owner and NFL commissioner. Fleurette died in 1916.{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-philadelphia-inquirer/29204419/ |title=John C. Bell Dies, Attorney General Under Gov. Tener |newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer |pages=1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-philadelphia-inquirer-john-c-bell-d/126800580/ 14] |date=1935-12-30 |access-date=2023-06-20 |via=Newspapers.com}}

Career

Bell achieved prominence as an attorney very quickly, and he was noted for his corporate work.Hudson, p. 81 He was offered a judgeship, but declined.

When in 1902 sitting Philadelphia District Attorney John Weaver won election as the city's mayor, Bell accepted the appointment to take his place, and then ran for and won a term on his own, but declined a renomination. As District Attorney, he was noted for enforcement of food purity laws. He gave the annual address before the Law Academy of Philadelphia: The Several Modes of Instituting Criminal Proceedings in Pennsylvania. An Address...before the Law Academy of Philadelphia, May 27, 1904. (Philadelphia, Dukes, 1904) that gave a useful detailed discussion of how a person might be indicted for criminal proceedings in early twentieth-century Philadelphia.

In 1911, Governor John K. Tener appointed Bell as state Attorney General. Upon completing his term, Bell returned to private practice.

Bell died of heart disease at his home in Philadelphia on December 29, 1935.