David S. Cordish
American businessman
David S. Cordish (born January 30, 1940) is an American real estate developer, son of Paul L. Cordish, and the third generation CEO and Chairman of the Cordish Companies.
Biography
David S. Cordish was born in Baltimore, the son of Ethel (née Patz) and Paul L. Cordish. His father founded the Cordish Law Firm which served as and continues to serve as the legal arm of the Cordish Company which was founded by his grandfather, Louis Cordish in 1910. His father also was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates in 1934 to represent the 4th legislative district in Baltimore City.
In 1956, he graduated from Baltimore City College at the age of 16. In 1960, he earned a B.A. from Johns Hopkins University; in 1963, he earned a J.D. from the University of Maryland Law School where he was on the Board of Editors of the Law Review; and in 1965, he earned a M.L.A. from Johns Hopkins University. In 1968, he joined The Cordish Company (currently The Cordish Companies) and began developing regional, community and neighborhood shopping centers and office buildings. with intermediate stints as chair of the Baltimore City Housing Authority (1972–1974) where he helped mediate city labor disputes; and as Director of Urban Development Action Grant program in Washington D.C. at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (UDAG) in both the Carter and Reagan Administrations.
In 1981, after having interrupted a successful development career to serve as Director of UDAG, he began a second division of the company that specializes in the development and redevelopment of multi-use downtown urban projects. In addition to his service at HUD, Cordish has been appointed to a variety of civic leadership positions as well as serving on numerous national, state, and local boards both professionally and charitably.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “David S. Cordish” is american businessman. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through David, Cordish and American, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “american businessman” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 12, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q18388195. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1940, 1910, 1934 and 1956.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. 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 “David S. Cordish”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow David S. Cordish primary sources, David S. Cordish archive and David 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 “David S. Cordish”?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “David S. Cordish” 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.