Samuel G. King
{{Short description|American politician}}
{{Infobox Officeholder
| name = Samuel George King
| image = File:Samuel George King.jpg
| order1 = 73rd
| office1 = Mayor of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| term_start1 = April 4, 1881
| term_end1 = April 7, 1884
| predecessor1 = William S. Stokley
| successor1 = William Burns Smith
| birth_date = {{Birth date |1816|5|2}}
| birth_place = Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1899|3|21|1816|5|2}}
| death_place =
| resting_place = Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
| party = Democratic
| occupation =
| spouse =
| relations =
}}
Samuel George King (May 2, 1816 – March 21, 1899) was an American politician who served as the 73rd mayor of Philadelphia from 1881 to 1884. He was a member of the Democratic Party and was the last Democrat elected as mayor of Philadelphia until 1952.
Biography
King was born on May 2, 1816, in Philadelphia. In 1881, as a member of the Select Council, he ran for the mayoralty of Philadelphia against three-term incumbent William S. Stokley. The Philadelphia Republican establishment had not accepted Stokley as one of their own and prominent reformists such as Rudolph Blankenburg opposed Stokley for corruption.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2aWWvvUC-G8C&pg=PA96 |title=Philadelphia Politics from the Bottom Up: The Life of Irishman William McMullen, 1824-1901 |last=Silcox |first=Harry |page=98 |year=1989|isbn=9780944190012 }}
After the influential Committee of One Hundred voted to endorse Stokley, Blankenburg and John Paul Verree resigned their memberships.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D7XC3hxymDEC&pg=PA68 |title=When Bosses Ruled Philadelphia: The Emergence of the Republican Machine, 1867-1933 |last=McCaffery |first=Peter |page=68 |date=2010-11-01|isbn=978-0271040578 }} The Committee reversed itself and endorsed King in the election. He defeated Stokley by a margin of nearly 5,800 votes.
King initiated a program to develop "river baths". Three were implemented in Philadelphia, two on the Delaware River and one on the Schuykill River, next to the poorest neighborhoods in an attempt to improve city health by enabling city residents to bathe regularly.{{cite book |last1=Wiltse |first1=Jeff |title=Contested Waters - A Social History of Swimming Pools in America |date=2007 |publisher=The University of North Carolina Press |location=Chapel Hill |isbn=978-0-8078-3100-7 |page=24 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cRQxbEaV0KUC |access-date=7 September 2022}} He also appointed the first black officers to serve in the Philadelphia Police Department.{{cite book |last1=Kooi |first1=Brandon |title=Seven Highly Effective Police Leaders: 1895 - Modern Times |date=2022 |publisher=Routledge |location=New York |isbn=978-1-4987-6892-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZGZCEAAAQBAJ |access-date=7 September 2022}}
In 1884, King ran for a second term, but Republican William Burns Smith defeated him by more than 9,000 votes.{{cite web |url=http://www.phila.gov/phils/mayorlst.htm |title=Mayors of the City of Philadelphia |publisher=City of Philadelphia |access-date=2018-06-13}}
King was the last Democrat to hold the office of Mayor of Philadelphia until Joseph Clark was elected in 1952.{{cite web |last1=Goodtimes |first1=Johnny |title=Worst 18th-Century Job: Philadelphia Mayor |url=https://www.phillymag.com/news/2011/11/08/worst-job-philadelphia-mayor/? |website=www.phillymag.com |publisher=Metro Corp |access-date=7 September 2022}}
King died on March 21, 1899, and is buried at Laurel Hill Cemetery.{{cite web |title=Samuel G. King |url=https://remembermyjourney.com/memorials/samuel-g-king?id=qA3GYKRA |website=remembermyjourney.com |publisher=webCemeteries |access-date=3 January 2025}}
References
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External links
- {{Find a Grave|7663269}}
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{{succession box | before=William S. Stokley | title=Mayor of Philadelphia | years=1881–1884 | after=William Burns Smith}}
{{s-end}}
{{PhiladelphiaMayors}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:King, Samuel George}}
Category:19th-century mayors of places in Pennsylvania
Category:Burials at Laurel Hill Cemetery (Philadelphia)
Category:Mayors of Philadelphia
Category:Pennsylvania Democrats