Albert Isaac Beach (July 30, 1883 – January 21, 1939) was a Republican

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

from 1924 to 1930, the final mayor to be elected before the city adopted the

City Manager A city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city, in a "Mayor–council government" council–manager form of city government. Local officials serving in this position are sometimes referred to as the chief execu ...

form of government.

Biography

Beach was born on July 30, 1883, in Olathe, Kansas, the son of George Henry Beach and Eva F. Hull. He graduated from the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

in 1905, and received his

law degree A law degree is an academic degree conferred for studies in law. Such degrees are generally preparation for legal careers. But while their curricula may be reviewed by legal authority, they do not confer a license themselves. A legal license is gra ...

from Washington University School of Law in 1907. Beach married Marjorie Marshall, on December 21, 1907. He was a Presbyterian. He moved to Kansas City in 1908 and was elected to the city council from the fifth ward in 1910 and the fourth ward in 1912. He was elected as mayor of the city in 1924. He would stay in the office until 1930. Officially intending to make government more efficient, he backed the a referendum to create the city manager government. The first city manager Henry F. McElroy took office in 1926 with the backing of big city boss Thomas Pendergast. McElroy took over Beach's office and he was relegated to a small office. The city manager government was to mark the zenith of Pendergast power. Beach was delegate of the

Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the United States Republican Party. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal of the Repu ...

from Missouri in 1928. He was member of the

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of acad ...

;

Beta Theta Pi Beta Theta Pi (), commonly known as Beta, is a North American social fraternity that was founded in 1839 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. One of North America's oldest fraternities, as of 2022 it consists of 144 active chapters in the Unite ...

; Phi Delta Phi;

Freemasons Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

. Beach died at his home in Kansas City, Jackson County, Missouri on January 21, 1939, from coronary thrombosis. He was buried at

Forest Hill Calvary Cemetery Forest Hill Calvary Cemetery is a cemetery in Kansas City, Missouri. History The Forest Hill Calvary Cemetery was established in 1888. George Kessler served as the landscape architect when the cemetery was established. The cemetery is approxi ...

in Kansas City. Notable events during his tenure included: *Construction of Kansas City Downtown Airport *Construction of a hospital on Hospital Hill

References

Kansas City Public Library History
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beach, Albert I. 1883 births 1939 deaths Politicians from Olathe, Kansas University of Kansas alumni Washington University School of Law alumni Missouri lawyers Mayors of Kansas City, Missouri Missouri Republicans 20th-century American politicians