Born on December 29, 1850 on the Biehn (Bean) family farm in Haysville, Wilmot Township, David Bean became a teacher.  Upon receiving his teacher’s certificate when he was around 15 years old, he taught in the school at Blenheim as well as schools in Baden and Washington.  In 1868 he began teaching at the Elmira Public and Continuation School and was promoted to the position of principal in 1876, a position he held until 1888. 

Along with partner N. C. Dipel, Bean entered the newspaper business with the purchase The Waterloo Chronicle and Family Newspaper in 1888 and moved to Waterloo.  The following year he became sole owner of the newspaper.  In 1899 he and his son D. Alex purchased the Daily Telegraph and continued to publish both newspapers.

Bean was the first chairman of the Waterloo Water Commission established in 1899 and was a member of the Waterloo Board of Trade and a director of the Dominion Life Assurance Company.

A member of the Waterloo Methodist Church (now First United), Bean served as a long-standing trustee, the superintendent of the Sunday School and for many years was also the church’s choir master.

Bean served one year on town council in 1899 prior to being elected mayor the following two years.  Queen Victoria’s death in 1901 saw Bean’s council approve a proposal to construct a memorial gate for the entrance to the municipal park.  That year also saw council addressing the issue of the care of smallpox patients.  In 1902 Bean was successful in securing a grant of $10,000 from Andrew Carnegie for the construction of a Free Library Building.  Also that year, council investigated establishing a militia company in Waterloo and the town held its largest Saengerfest (singing festival).  In 1920 the idea of bringing electric power to the town from Niagara Falls was championed by the Waterloo Board of Trade.