John W. Smith (April 12, 1882 – June 17, 1942) was an American politician who was a long-time member of the Detroit City Council and was twice mayor of Detroit, Michigan.
John W. Smith | |
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| 52nd and 57th Mayor of Detroit | |
| In office 1924–1928 | |
| Preceded by | John C. Lodge |
| Succeeded by | John C. Lodge |
| In office 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 |
Early life
editJohn 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
editSmith 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
edit- ^ a b c d e f Philip Parker Mason (1987). The Ambassador Bridge: A Monument to Progress. Wayne State University Press. pp. 75–76. ISBN 0-8143-1840-1.
- ^ a b c Pipp, Edwin Gustav (1927). Men Who Have Made Michigan. Pipp's Magazine. p. 13. Retrieved April 7, 2023 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Ex-Mayor of Detroit". The Windsor Daily Star. Detroit. June 18, 1942. p. 2. Retrieved April 7, 2023 – via Google News Archive.
- ^ "Public Libraries". Michigan Library Bulletin. 17. Lansing, Michigan: Michigan State Library: 45. July–August 1926.
- ^ a b Who's Who in Detroit, 1935–36. Walter Romig & Co. 1935. p. 296.
- ^ a b "Mayors of the City of Detroit". Detroit Public Library. 2006. Archived from the original on September 28, 2011. Retrieved September 7, 2010.
- ^ "Detroit City Council, 1919 to present". Detroit Public Library. Archived from the original on September 28, 2011. Retrieved November 6, 2010.
- ^ "Kelly, Whealan Pledge Help to Recovery Drive". Chicago Tribune. September 9, 1933. p. 7. Retrieved April 7, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "LABOR: In Detroit". Time. October 18, 1937. Archived from the original on July 9, 2009.
- ^ "National Affairs: Detroit's Irishman". Time. September 22, 1930. Archived from the original on January 30, 2011.
- ^ "John W. Smith; Detroit's Ex-Mayor, 59, Had Served Also as...". The New York Times. June 18, 1942.
External links
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