Richard Reading
{{Short description|American politician}}
{{about|the American politician|the English journalist and Chevalier of the Order of Leopold|Richard Reading, CdeG(B)}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Richard Reading
| image = Readingmayor39.jpg
| smallimage =
| caption =
|order=59th
| office = Mayor of Detroit
| term_start = January 4, 1938
| term_end = January 1, 1940
| predecessor = Frank Couzens
| successor = Edward Jeffries
| office1 = Detroit City Clerk
| term1 = 1926 – 1938
| office2 = Detroit City Controller
| term2 = 1924 – 1926
| office3 = Detroit City Assessor
| term3 = 1921 – 1924
| birth_date = {{birth-date|February 7, 1882}}
| birth_place = Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
| death_date = {{death-date and age|December 9, 1952|February 7, 1882}}
| death_place = Brighton, Michigan, U.S.
| constituency =
| party =
| education = University of Detroit
| spouse = {{marriage|Blanche White|1901}}
| children = 4
| profession =
| religion =
| signature =
| footnotes =
}}
Richard W. Reading (February 7, 1882 – December 9, 1952) was a Republican mayor of Detroit, Michigan from 1938 to 1940.
Biography
Richard William Reading was born in Detroit on February 7, 1882, the son of Richard W. and Louise M. Reading.{{citation | title = Who's Who in Detroit, 1935-36 | publisher = Walter Romig & Co | year = 1935 | page = 264}} He was educated in the Detroit Public Schools and attended the University of Detroit.
Reading married Blanche White in 1901. The couple had four children.
Reading was for a time a semi-pro wrestler. He later worked variously as a printer, a newspaper executive, and a real estate dealer before entering public life in 1921.
Reading was appointed City Assessor in 1921, moved to City Controller in 1924, and was elected City Clerk in 1926. He stayed in the office of clerk until 1939, when he ran for mayor, ultimately defeating Patrick H. O'Brien by nearly two-to-one.{{cite news | title = CIO Candidate is Defeated in Detroit Vote | newspaper = Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | date = Nov 3, 1937 | url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=1U4nAAAAIBAJ&sjid=vGkDAAAAIBAJ&pg=2064,1924001&dq=richard-reading&hl=en}} However, once in the office, Reading engaged in graft, selling protection to a numbers racketeers and promotions to police officers.{{citation | title = Detroit and the "Good War": the World War II letters of Mayor Edward Jeffries and friends |author1 = Edward Jeffries | author2 = Dominic J. Capeci | publisher = University Press of Kentucky |year = 1996 | page = 6 | isbn = 0-8131-1974-X | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=mGds2X-qNAAC&dq=%22richard+w+Reading%22&pg=PA6}} This corruption was exposed as the campaign for the next mayoral election was gearing up, and Reading was crushed by Edward Jeffries.{{cite news | title = JEFFIES LIKELY WINNER; Detroit Mayor Seeks Fifth Term | newspaper = New York Times | date = Nov 2, 1947}}
Shortly after leaving office, Reading was indicted on charges of accepting bribes and conspiring to protect Detroit's gambling rackets.{{cite news | title = Kilpatrick among other Detroit officials who have faced legal trouble | newspaper = The Detroit News| date = March 24, 2008 | url = http://detnews.com/article/20080324/METRO/803240424/Kilpatrick-among-other-Detroit-officials-who-have-faced-legal-trouble#ixzz150Q19JY8}} He was sentenced to four to five years in prison, of which he served three.
Richard W. Reading died on December 9, 1952, in Brighton, Michigan.{{cite news | title = EX-MAYOR READING OF DETROIT IS DEAD| newspaper = THE NEW YORK TIMES | date = December 10, 1952 | url = http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0612F93A5E177B93C2A81789D95F468585F9}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef | before=Frank Couzens}}
{{s-ttl | title=Mayor of Detroit | years = January 4, 1938 – January 1, 1940}}
{{s-aft | after=Edward Jeffries}}
{{end}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category}}
{{DetroitMayors}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reading, Richard}}