Frank Couzens (February 28, 1902 – October 31, 1950) was the son of

United States Senator The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...

James J. Couzens James J. Couzens (August 26, 1872October 22, 1936) was an American businessman, politician and philanthropist. He served as mayor of Detroit (1919–1922) and U.S. Senator from Michigan (1922–1936). Prior to entering politics he served as vice ...

, and mayor of

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 ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

during the 1930s.

Early life

Frank Couzens was born in Detroit on February 28, 1902, the son of businessman (and later mayor of Detroit and United States Senator) James J. Couzens. He went to Newman Preparatory School in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, then returned to Detroit to attend high school. After graduation, he worked as an apprentice in the building trades, then as an inspector for an architectural firm. In 1922, he formed his own building contractor firm. Frank Couzens married Margaret Lang in 1922; the couple had four sons: Frank Couzens Jr., James Couzens II, Homer J. Couzens, and George L. Couzens; and three daughters: Mrs. Edward C. Roney, Mary Elizabeth Couzens, and Barbara Ann Couzens.

Politics

In 1928, then-mayor

John C. Lodge John Christian Lodge (August 12, 1862 – February 6, 1950) was an influential politician from Detroit, Michigan, serving as mayor from 1922 to 1923, in 1924, and from 1927 to 1929, and spending over 30 years on the Detroit City Council. Biogra ...

appointed Couzens a member of the Detroit Street Railways Commission. He was fired by the next mayor, Charles Bowles, in 1930 after opposing Bowles's effort to raise the streetcar fare. However, the deeply unpopular Bowles was recalled from office, and

Frank Murphy William Francis Murphy (April 13, 1890July 19, 1949) was an American politician, lawyer and jurist from Michigan. He was a Democrat who was named to the Supreme Court of the United States in 1940 after a political career that included serving ...

reinstated Couzens. In 1931, Couzens ran for a seat on the

Detroit City Council The Detroit City Council is the legislative body of Detroit, Michigan, United States. The full-time council is required to meet every business day for at least 10 months of the year, with at least eight of these meetings occurring at a location ...

, and garnered enough votes to become council president. When Murphy resigned in 1933 to become governor of the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, Couzens became acting mayor. He resigned the mayor's office on September 8, 1933, to concentrate on receiving the

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 ...

nomination for the office. He was elected mayor twice, filling out four years in office.

Later life

After stepping down from the mayor's office, Couzens retired from politics and founded the Wabeek Bank of Detroit, whose chairman he remained for the next 12 years. He died after a long battle with cancer on October 31, 1950. Wabeek Bank would after a series of mergers become part of Comerica.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Couzens, Frank 1902 births 1950 deaths Mayors of Detroit Detroit City Council members Michigan Republicans 20th-century American politicians American people of Canadian descent