Ben Dunkelman
Canadian Army officer (1913–1997)
Benjamin "Ben" Dunkelman DSO (June 26, 1913 – June 11, 1997) was a Canadian Jewish military officer and businessman. Dunkelman served in the Canadian Army in World War II and the Israel Defense Forces in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. In Israel, he was called Benjamin Ben-David. He subsequently headed the retail chain Tip Top Tailors and was a real estate developer, art gallery owner, and restauranteur.
Biography
Early life
Benjamin Dunkelman was born in Toronto to Ashkenazi Jewish immigrant parents. His father David Dunkelman was from Makov (modern Maków Mazowiecki, Poland) in the Russian Empire, and was the founder of the Canadian men's clothing retailer Tip Top Tailors. His mother Rose Dunkelman (née Miller) was originally from Philadelphia and rose to prominence in Toronto for her charity work during World War I. His parents were committed Zionists. Dunkelman and his siblings grew up on an estate, Sunnybrook Farm (now the site of Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre), northeast of Toronto, built by his wealthy father, as well as the family's summer home at Lake Simcoe. Dunkelman later recalled about growing on Sunnybrook Farm that "it was a dreamland, a children’s paradise". As a child, he met prominent Zionists who stayed at Sunnybrook Farm, including future Israeli President Chaim Weizmann.
The public source identifies “Ben Dunkelman” as canadian Army officer (1913–1997). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Dunkelman, Canadian and Army.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Ben Dunkelman”, the useful work is to connect “canadian Army officer (1913–1997)” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 6, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2355794. VIAF identifies the subject as 77556806. The Library of Congress control number is n50029730. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1913, 1997 and 1948.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Ben Dunkelman”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Ben Dunkelman primary sources, Ben Dunkelman archive and Dunkelman research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Ben Dunkelman”?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Ben Dunkelman” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.