Alcaeus Hooper
{{short description|American politician (1859–1938)}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Alcaeus Hooper
| image = Mr. Alcaeus Hooper (1903) (cropped).png
| alt =
| caption = Hooper, {{circa|1903}}
| order = 31st
| office = Mayor of Baltimore
| term_start = November 20, 1895
| term_end = November 17, 1897
| predecessor = Ferdinand C. Latrobe
| successor = William T. Malster
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth date|1859|1|2}}
| birth_place = Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|1938|7|1|1859|1|2}}
| death_place = Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
| resting_place = Druid Ridge Cemetery
| party = Republican
| spouse = {{marriage|Florence Gees||1933|reason=died}}
| children = 4
| education =
| alma_mater =
| occupation =
| signature =
}}
Alcaeus Hooper (January 2, 1859 – July 1, 1938) was the Mayor of Baltimore from November 20, 1895, to November 17, 1897.
Early life
Alcaeus Hooper was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on January 2, 1859, to Catherine (née Bell) and William E. Hooper.Coyle, Wilber E. [https://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/speccol/sc3500/sc3520/012400/012481/html/12481bio.html The Mayors of Baltimore], pp. 173-77 (1919){{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/106327061/baltimores-oldest-living-mayor-18-oct/ |title=Baltimore's Oldest Living Mayor |date=1936-10-18 |newspaper=The Baltimore Sun |page=91 |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=2022-07-26}}{{Open access}} He was named after Alcaeus of Mytilene, a Greek poet that his parents heard a lecture about. His father was a manufacturer of cotton duck. He attended Professor Eli Lamb's School (later Friends School of Baltimore), but did not attend college. He followed his father into the business and worked at William E. Hooper & Sons.{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/106326560/mr-alcaeus-hooper-20-jun-1892-the/ |title=Mr. Alcaeus Hooper |date=1892-06-20 |newspaper=The Baltimore Sun |page=8 |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=2022-07-26}}{{Open access}} After the death of his father, the company merged into a corporation named Woodberry Manufacturing Company, and Hooper served as treasurer.{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/106328963/the-fighting-mayor-10-jan-1897/ |title=The Fighting Mayor |date=1897-01-10 |newspaper=New-York Tribune |page=25 |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=2022-07-26}}{{Open access}}
Career
Hooper was a member of the school board from 1888 to 1892, and was elected to the First Branch of City Council in 1893. In 1895 he was the Republican nominee for Mayor, and won over Democrat Henry Williams. Hooper was at odds with the City Council about his appointments, and won a lawsuit over it at the state Court of Appeals. After serving his one term, he again was appointed to serve on the school board. He was charged by the school board president John E. Semmes of being unfit to serve and was brought to trial in front of Mayor J. Barry Mahool.{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/106325464/mayor-begins-trial-of-hooper-21-dec/ |title=Mayor Begins Trial of Hooper |date=1890-12-21 |newspaper=The Evening Sun |page=12 |last=McCardell |first=Lee |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=2022-07-26}}{{Open access}} He resigned from the position on January 3, 1911.{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/106327644/school-board-crisis-back-up-van/ |title=School Board Crisis; "Back Up Van Sickle!" |date=1911-01-04 |newspaper=The Baltimore Sun |page=16 |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=2022-07-26}}{{Open access}}
His New York Times obituary said his 1895 mayoral campaign was "one of the stormiest in the city's history", with Hooper pitted against the Democratic machine run by Isaac Freeman Rasin. "Little more than five feet in height, he was fiery of temperament and vigorous in action."(2 July 1938). [https://www.nytimes.com/1938/07/02/archives/exmayor-hooper-of-baltimore-79-citys-executive-for-stormy-2year.html Ex-Mayor Hooper of Baltimore, 79], The New York Times, p. 13
Personal life
Hooper married Florence Gees in the 1880s and she died in 1933. They had a son and three daughters: Hamilton, Caroline, Elizabeth and Florence. He owned a 120-acre apple orchard in Eagles Mere, Pennsylvania.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/106328237/real-estate-deals-and-building-news-21/ |title=Real Estate Deals and Building News |date=1939-04-21 |newspaper=The Baltimore Sun |page=29 |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=2022-07-26}}{{Open access}}
Hooper died at his home in Baltimore on July 1, 1938. He is buried at Druid Ridge Cemetery outside Baltimore.
References
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External links
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{{BaltimoreMayors}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hooper, Alcaeus}}