Delos Franklin Wilcox (April 22, 1873 in
Ida, Michigan
Ida ( ) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Monroe County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The CDP had a population of 790 at the 2020 census. The community is mostly within Ida Township with a smaller portion ext ...
– April 4, 1928
) was a
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
expert on municipal government.
Biography
He graduated from the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
in 1894, having been strongly influenced by
John Dewey
John Dewey (; October 20, 1859 – June 1, 1952) was an American philosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer whose ideas have been influential in education and social reform. He was one of the most prominent American scholars in the f ...
.
[ He took the degree of ]Ph.D.
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...
at Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
in 1896. He edited the Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
''Civic News'' from 1905 to 1907. From 1907 to 1913 he was chief of the bureau of franchises in the first district of the New York Civil Service Commission
The New York State Civil Service Commission is a New York state government bodyCivil Service Law § 5. "There shall continue to be in the state government a department of civil service. The head of the department shall be the president of the sta ...
. From 1914 to 1917 he was deputy commissioner of the New York department of water supply, gas and electricity. In 1919-20 he served as an advisor to the Federal Electric Railways Commission
The Federal Electric Railways Commission was a United States agency established by President Woodrow Wilson in June 1919. The commission was charged with investigating the financial problems of the streetcar and interurban railway industry in the ...
.
Personal
He married Mina Gates in 1898, and four children survived him. He had an orchard at Elk Rapids, Michigan
Elk Rapids is a village in Antrim County in the state of Michigan. The population was 1,642 at the 2010 census. The village is located within Elk Rapids Township, about north of Traverse City. It is physically split by the Elk River, which ru ...
, which he gave much attention in later years.[
]
Works
He was a recognized authority on municipal government and wrote extensively on the subject. His works include:
* ''Municipal Government in Michigan and Ohio'', his Ph.D. thesis (1896)
* ''The Study of City Government'' (1897)
* ''Ethical Marriage'' (1900)
* ''The American City'' (1904)
* ''The Government of Great American Cities'' (1908)
* ''Municipal Franchises'' (2 vols., 1910–11)
* ''Great Cities in America: Their Problems and Their Government'' (1910)
* ''Government by all the People'' (1912)
* ''Public Ownership of Public Utilities'' (1919), with William Bennett Munro
William Bennett Munro (5 January 1875 – 4 September 1957) was a Canadian historian and political scientist. He taught at Harvard University and the California Institute of Technology. He was known for research on the seigneurial system in New Fr ...
, John Martin, and Samuel Orace Dunn Samuel Orace Dunn (March 8, 1877 – January 4, 1958) was an American transportation specialist.
Biography
He was born in Bloomfield, Iowa on March 8, 1877. He began to set type at the age of 12. He learned the printing trade after graduating from ...
* ''Analysis of the Electric Railway Problem'' (1921)[ (1931)
]
Notes
References
*
External links
Guide to the Delos Franklin Wilcox Papers 1907-1928
at th
University of Chicago Special Collections Research Center
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilcox, Delos Franklin
1873 births
1928 deaths
American editors
American non-fiction writers
Columbia University alumni
University of Michigan alumni
People from Monroe County, Michigan