| John W. Smith | |
|---|---|
| |
| 52nd and 57th Mayor of Detroit | |
In office 1924–1928 | |
| Preceded by | John C. Lodge |
| Succeeded by | John C. Lodge |
In office 1933–1933 | |
| Preceded by | Frank Couzens |
| Succeeded by | Frank Couzens |
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 12, 1882 Detroit, Michigan |
| Died | June 17, 1942 (aged 60) Detroit, Michigan |
John W. Smith (April 12, 1882 – June 17, 1942) was a long-time member of the Detroit City Council and was twice mayor of Detroit, Michigan.
Early life[]
John W. Smith was born in Detroit on April 12, 1882, the son of John W. and Gertrude Wax Smith.[1][2] His father died when Smith was five years old, leaving the family poor.[3] He began working as a newsboy when he was six years old.[3] He quit school in the fifth grade,[4] and worked as a pin-setter in a bowling alley and a newsboy, furthering his education on his own at the library.[1][3] He started boxing at a young age,[3] then joined the army at the age of fifteen to fight in the Spanish–American War, staying on to fight in the Philippines for some time.[2]
On his return to Detroit in 1901, Smith attended the University of Detroit for a year, simultaneously becoming a journeyman pipefitter.[3] He next joined the Detroit Shipbuilding Company as a pipefitter.[1]
Smith married Marie General;[5] the couple had two children: Dorothy and John W., Jr.[3]
Politics[]
Smith became active in Republican politics in 1908,[3] and in 1911 was appointed Deputy State Labor Commissioner by Governor Chase S. Osborn.[1] Two years later he became a deputy at the Wayne County Sheriff's Department. He also served as a deputy US Marshall and deputy county clerk.[2] He was elected to the Michigan State Senate in 1920, and was appointed postmaster of Detroit by Warren G. Harding in 1922.[1]
In 1924, Smith won election as Detroit mayor after Frank Ellsworth Doremus's resignation,[1] continuing in the office until 1928.[6] Smith later served on the Detroit City Council for most of the time from 1932 until his death in 1942.[7] He served one more time as mayor in 1933, acting to fill out the end of Frank Murphy's term,[6] after the latter had resigned and his successor, Frank Couzens, also resigned to concentrate on running for election as mayor.[8] Smith ran for mayor off-and-on, including in 1930 and 1936, and for governor in 1934,[5] but was not elected.[9][10]
John W. Smith died on June 17, 1942.[11]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Philip Parker Mason (1987). The Ambassador Bridge: A Monument to Progress. Wayne State University Press. pp. 75–76. ISBN 0-8143-1840-1. https://archive.org/details/ambassadorbridge0000maso.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Edwin Gustav Pipp (1927). "Men who have made Michigan". https://books.google.com/books?ei=j-DWTNm_EoP78AbKiKi1CQ.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 "Ex-Mayor of Detroit". Jun 18, 1942. https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=_iA_AAAAIBAJ&sjid=pE8MAAAAIBAJ&pg=4924,726211&dq=smith+detroit&hl=en.
- ↑ "Public Libraries". Lansing, Michigan: Michigan State Library. July–August 1926. p. 45. https://books.google.com/books?id=BnwiAQAAIAAJ&pg=RA6-PA45.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Who's Who in Detroit, 1935–36. Walter Romig & Co. 1935. p. 296.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Mayors of the City of Detroit". Detroit Public Library. 2006. Archived from the original on September 28, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110928123656/http://www.detroit.lib.mi.us/mrl/mayors.htm. Retrieved September 7, 2010.
- ↑ "Detroit City Council, 1919 to present". Detroit Public Library. Archived from the original on September 28, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110928123713/http://www.detroit.lib.mi.us/mrl/Council.htm. Retrieved November 6, 2010.
- ↑ "KELLY, WHEALAN PLEDGE HELP TO RECOVERY DRIVE". Sep 9, 1933.
- ↑ "LABOR: In Detroit". Oct 18, 1937. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,758253,00.html.
- ↑ "National Affairs: Detroit's Irishman". September 22, 1930. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,740320,00.html.
- ↑ "JOHN W. SMITH; Detroit's Ex-Mayor, 59, Had Served Also as...". Jun 18, 1942.
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