John B. Gage
John B. Gage | |
---|---|
45th Mayor of Kansas City | |
In office 1940–1946 | |
Preceded by | |
Succeeded by | William E. Kemp |
Personal details | |
Born | John Bailey Gage February 8, 1889 Kansas City, Missouri, United States |
Died | January 15, 1970 Kansas City, Missouri, United States | (aged 82)
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse(s) | Constant R. Lane
(m. 1916; died 1920) |
John Bailey "Jack" Gage (February 24, 1887 – January 15, 1970) was mayor of Kansas City, Missouri from 1940 to 1946. He made reforms following the collapse of the political machine of Thomas Pendergast.
Biography[]
Gage was born on the 80-acre (320,000 m2) family farm at 9th and Cleveland on February 24, 1887.[1] He graduated from the University of Kansas in 1907. Following in his father's footsteps, he studied law and received his law degree from the Kansas City School of Law in 1909.[2]
He married Constant R. Lane in 1916, and they had one child. His wife died in January 1920.[2]
In 1930, he started the Gage and Hill law firm in the Bryant Building at 11th and Grand. Following a series of mergers, the firm would become Lathrop and Gage in 1873 (via the Lathrop line).[3]
After Pendergast pleaded guilty to income tax evasion charges in 1939, Gage, a Democrat, campaigned for mayor for the Citizens Association party consisting of both Democrats and Republicans. A signature aspect of the campaign was an appeal to housewives with the slogan:
Wanted: 75,000 women with pioneer courage...let us keep faith with those who blazed the trail.
He was to cut the city budget by $700,000, hired city manager L.P. Cookingham, and began to expand the city limits. He was elected three times.
He died on January 15, 1970, a month after being hit by a truck while walking to work at 11th and Grand Avenue in Kansas City.[4]
References[]
- ^ The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. 57. James T. White & Company. 1977. p. 60. Retrieved November 30, 2021 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b Centennial History of Missouri. IV. S. J. Clarke Publishing Company. 1921. p. 694. Retrieved November 30, 2021 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ "Lathrop and Gage history". Archived from the original on February 18, 2007. Retrieved March 27, 2007.
- ^ "John B. Gage: Longtime mayor of Kaycee dies". The Manhattan Mercury. Kansas City. AP. January 15, 1970. p. 3. Retrieved November 30, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- Kansas City Star biography
- Kansas City Public Library biography
- The Great Plains States of America: People, Politics, and Power in the Nine Great Plains States By Neal R. Peirce, Neal R. Peirce ISBN 0-393-05349-0
- 1887 births
- 1970 deaths
- University of Kansas alumni
- Missouri Democrats
- Mayors of Kansas City, Missouri
- Pedestrian road incident deaths
- Road incident deaths in Missouri
- 20th-century American politicians
- Midwestern United States mayor stubs
- Missouri politician stubs