The Boy Mayor of New York City

New York City has a long history of notable political leaders – famous, and infamous, figures from DeWitt Clinton to Boss Tweed to Fiorello La Guardia (see audio below) to Ed Koch. But as Manhattan Borough Historian Michael Miscione points out, some of the less prominent names are worth remembering as well. John Purroy Mitchel (1879 - 1918), for example, became mayor of New York in 1914 at age 34. A reformer – “very independent, very feisty,” Miscione says – Purroy served one four-year term in office. Here, Miscione tells WNYC's Kathleen Horan why John Purroy Mitchel should be remembered:

He was known as The Boy Mayor because he was the youngest elected mayor in New York City history.

An interesting thing about John Purroy Mitchell is he liked to pack heat. He carried a gun. In fact, he once accidentally dropped his gun and shot his friend in the leg—he survived and everything was fine, but still. 

Probably the most compelling thing is about how he died. He wanted to run for a second term. Tammany Hall buried him. He lost at the polls even though he had a nice solid group of supporters. But this was right about the time that the United States was entering World War I. He was a relatively young man and he volunteered for the U.S. Air Service, what was a precursor to today’s Air Force. And he was training in Louisiana and whether it was intentional, as some have claimed, or purely an accident, he did not strap on his seatbelt. He made some aerial maneuver and fell out of his airplane and died.

There’s a monument to John Purroy Mitchell, a golden bust at the 90^th Street entrance of Central Park. There was a groundswell of affection for the man after he died. He was beloved in certain quarters, despised in other quarters. And you see that constantly. There’s always this tug of reformers versus machine politicians.

FIORELLO LA GUARDIA READS THE FUNNY PAPERS

Fiorello La Guardia (1882-1947) served as mayor of New York City from 1934 to 1945. Known as the "Little Flower," La Guardia stood just 5'2"--but he left a giant legacy. One colorful part of that legacy was his reading of comic strips over the radio during a 17-day newspaper delivery strike in 1945. Listen to La Guardia's radio reads: La Guardia Reads Dick Tracy: La Guardia Reads Little Orphan Annie: