Ardolph Loges Kline (February 21, 1858 – October 13, 1930), was a senior officer of the New York

National Guard National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. Nat ...

and a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

politician who became acting Mayor of New York City on September 10, 1913, upon the death of Mayor

William Jay Gaynor William Jay Gaynor (February 2, 1849 – September 10, 1913) was an American politician from New York City, associated with the Tammany Hall political machine. He served as the 94th mayor of the City of New York from 1910 to 1913, and previously ...

, serving for the rest of the year. He was later a

United States representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

(1921–1923).

Biography

Kline was born near

Newton, New Jersey Newton, officially the ''Town of Newton'', is an incorporated municipality located in Sussex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is situated approximately by road northwest of New York City. As the location of the county's administrat ...

, in 1858 and studied at Phillips Academy in

Andover, Massachusetts Andover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. It was settled in 1642 and incorporated in 1646."Andover" in ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th ed., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 387. As of th ...

, but did not attend college. In 1876 and 1877, he started working for a men's clothing company in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

and joined the New York

as a private. When the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (cloc ...

of 1898 began, he was named a

Lieutenant-Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colo ...

, and in 1901 a Brevet (honorary or acting) Brigadier-General.

Political career

After losing a campaign for Sheriff of Kings County (Brooklyn), Kline was elected as an Alderman for the 51st District in

in 1903 and 1905, but lost re-election in 1907 due to Democratic redrawing of his district. He won back his seat in 1911 and became Vice-Chairman of the Board of Aldermen in 1912, promising to enforce all rules fairly from the chair (including those against smoking). When John P. Mitchel, the elected President of the Board of Aldermen, resigned in 1912 in order to become

Collector of the Port of New York The Collector of Customs at the Port of New York, most often referred to as Collector of the Port of New York, was a federal officer who was in charge of the collection of import duties on foreign goods that entered the United States by ship at t ...

, Kline succeeded Mitchel. And when Mayor Gaynor (who had never fully recovered from an attempted assassination in 1910) died at sea in September 1913, Board President Kline became mayor. He served out the remainder of Gaynor's term, leaving office on December 31, 1913. Despite his stated intention of keeping all the department heads appointed by his predecessor for the rest of his term, Kline, in his very last days of office, dismissed

Rhinelander Waldo Rhinelander Waldo (May 24, 1877 – August 13, 1927) was appointed the seventh New York City Fire Commissioner by Mayor William Jay Gaynor on January 13, 1910. He resigned on May 23, 1911, less than two months after the deadly Triangle Shirtwaist ...

as Commissioner of Police rather than accept a New Year's Eve resignation. Although re-elected as alderman for his old district for the 1914-1915 term, Kline resigned in early January 1914 to begin four years as the City's Tax Commissioner for Brooklyn (reviewing appeals of property tax assessments). He later served as a Republican

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from New York (5th District in Brooklyn) from 1921 to 1923, being named to the House Committee on Naval Affairs, but lost re-election in 1922 to Loring M. Black, Jr. ( Democratic, 1923–1935). Kline spent all of his post-Congressional life as New York manager of the sea-service bureau of the

United States Shipping Board The United States Shipping Board (USSB) was established as an emergency agency by the 1916 Shipping Act (39 Stat. 729), on September 7, 1916. The United States Shipping Board's task was to increase the number of US ships supporting the World War ...

. Kline died October 13, 1930, at the

Methodist Episcopal Hospital NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital is located in Park Slope in Brooklyn, New York, between 7th and 8th Avenues, on 6th Street. The academic hospital has 591 beds (including bassinets) and provides services to some 42,000 inpatients ...

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, and was buried in Holy Cross Cemetery.

Legacy

He is still (in early 2016) the only mayor of the consolidated (post-1897) city never to have won a citywide popular election to any office (such as those from which

Joseph V. McKee Joseph Vincent McKee, Sr. (August 8, 1889January 28, 1956) was a teacher at DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx, New York, who later became a politically active Democrat and briefly served as the acting mayor of New York City. Life and car ...

and

Vincent Impellitteri Vincent Richard Impellitteri (born Vincenzo Impellitteri; February 4, 1900 – January 29, 1987) was an American politician and judge who served as the 101st Mayor of New York City, 1950–53. He was elected as a Democrat as president of the Cit ...

rose to become acting mayor). On the other hand, Kline is also the last serving or former mayor to win election to any other public office.

Congressional election returns

Here are the election returns from the Fifth Congressional District in Brooklyn for 1920-22, as reported by William Tyler Page, the

Clerk of the United States House of Representatives The Clerk of the United States House of Representatives is an officer of the United States House of Representatives, whose primary duty is to act as the chief record-keeper for the House. Along with the other House officers, the Clerk is elec ...

. The sitting Democratic Representative, John B. Johnston (1919–21), did not seek re-election in 1920. * ''(1920 was a landslide election year for the Republicans under President

Warren G. Harding Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was the 29th president of the United States, serving from 1921 until his death in 1923. A member of the Republican Party, he was one of the most popular sitting U.S. presidents. A ...

, but in the statewide elections of 1922, without such a national race, the New York City Democrats Al Smith and Royal Copeland easily unseated Republican Governor

Nathan L. Miller Nathan Lewis Miller (October 10, 1868 – June 26, 1953) was an American lawyer and politician who was Governor of New York from 1921 to 1922. Early life and education Nathan Miller was born on October 10, 1868, the son of Samuel Miller, a te ...

and Republican U.S. Senator William M. Calder.)''

New York gubernatorial elections There have been 91 gubernatorial elections in the state of New York since 1777, with the most recent being held on November 8, 2022. The next election is scheduled to be held on November 3, 2026. General information Originally the term for go ...

The House Clerk's Report on 1922 Election
and ''

The World Almanac and Book of Facts ''The World Almanac and Book of Facts'' is a US-published reference work, an almanac conveying information about such subjects as world changes, tragedies, and sports feats. It has been published yearly from 1868 to 1875, and again every year sinc ...

'' for 1929, pages 889-890

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kline, Ardolph Loges 1858 births 1930 deaths 20th-century American politicians Burials at Holy Cross Cemetery, Brooklyn Mayors of New York City People from Newton, New Jersey United States Army generals Phillips Academy alumni American military personnel of the Spanish–American War Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) Catholics from New Jersey Military personnel from New Jersey