Henry Thomas Hunt (April 29, 1878 – February 28, 1956) was the mayor of
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
from 1912 to 1913. Hunt, 33 years old when he took office, quickly became known as the ''Boy Mayor''. Failing to win re-election, he moved to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
where he became a successful attorney.
Early life
Henry and his younger brother, Philip Woodward Hunt (born November 15, 1882), were born to Samuel Hunt (born August 7, 1848), president of the Cincinnati, Portsmouth & Virginia Railroad Company, and Martha Trotter Hunt who were Quakers. After graduating from
Yale University
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
in 1900, Henry Hunt received a law degree from
Cincinnati Law School
The University of Cincinnati College of Law was founded in 1833 as the Cincinnati Law School. It is the fourth oldest continuously running law school in the United States — after Harvard, the University of Virginia, and Yale — and the first in ...
in 1903.
Political career
Hunt began his political career by joining the Committee of Nine, a group of young, idealistic neophytes bent on reforming a corrupt political system that had controlled Cincinnati and Hamilton County for decades.
[Warner, Landon (1953). "Henry T. Hunt and civic reform in Cincinnati, 1903-1913". ''Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly'', 62 (2): 146-161] George B. Cox, known far and wide as Boss Cox, ran the entrenched political machine.
In 1904, Hunt was appointed to a committee organized to separate school management from political influence.
In 1905, as a member of the Honest Election Committee, Hunt helped lead a municipal election campaign focused on the elimination of
Bossism
In politics, a boss is a person who controls a faction or local branch of a political party. They do not necessarily hold public office themselves; most historical bosses did not, at least during the times of their greatest influence. Numerous off ...
.
Also in 1905, Henry Hunt was nominated by the Democrats to stand for the
Ohio House of Representatives
The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate.
The House of Representatives first met in ...
, winning election as part of a reformist landslide that swept Cox's men out of office.
In November 1908, Hunt was elected prosecuting attorney for Hamilton County.
During Hunt's term, Boss Cox tried to obstruct him at every turn.
Nevertheless, Hunt prevailed more often than not, closing gambling rooms and driving
slot machine
A slot machine (American English), fruit machine (British English) or poker machine (Australian English and New Zealand English) is a gambling machine that creates a game of chance for its customers. Slot machines are also known pejoratively a ...
s out of the county.
In 1910, Hunt was re-elected to another two-year term.
In 1911, Hunt's persistence and successes prompted Cox to issue a surprising announcement. Later that year, he would retire from political life.
Henry Hunt was nominated to stand for mayor of Cincinnati on the Reform Democratic ticket, winning the November 1911 election.
Mayor
''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' of September 24, 1913 characterized the two-year term of Henry T. Hunt as "a remarkable record." They concluded that the voters have "no choice save to re-elect Mayor Hunt." The achievements of Mayor Henry T. Hunt were:
*Settling a street railway strike and a strike of ice men
*Introducing inspections of tenement houses
*Appointing school nurses
*Providing for food inspection and dental service for school children
*Separating the dependent children from the delinquents in the House of Refuge
*Providing that all the children had a chance to go to school and to Sunday school
*Confronting the loan sharks until they were driven from Cincinnati
*Rooting out many abuses and sources of disease in the densely populated parts of the city
*Increased regulation and control of the corrupt administration under Boss Cox
*Suppressing gambling and closing many gambling resorts
*Rerouting the street railway lines and constructing a terminal boulevard and belt line of surface cars
*Abolishing dangerous grade crossings
*Introducing a plan to improve city sewers
*Opposing the corrupt and powerful Republican organization dominated by Boss Cox
One summer afternoon, Hunt saved a teenager's life:
Later career
After losing a bid for re-election as mayor, Hunt enlisted in the Army and served during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, reaching the rank of major. In 1922, Henry Hunt entered the practice of law in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
.
Personal life
Henry T. Hunt married Thomasa Haydock (born September 22, 1885), daughter of Thomas T. Haydock of Cincinnati. They had three children: Barbara Carter Hunt (September 26, 1908 - July 4, 1952), Henry Thomas Hunt (born ''c.'' November, 1909) and Samuel Pancoast Hunt (born August 7, 1911). On May 8, 1920, Mrs. Thomasa Haydock Hunt filed suit in Cincinnati for a divorce from Henry T. Hunt.
In September, 1925, Henry T. Hunt married Eleanor M. Phelps (May 15, 1899–September 22, 1983).
[''The New York Times'', September 23, 1925.] They lie buried beside each other in
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...
.
References and notes
* ''The New York Times'', April 29, 1912.
* Miller, Zane L. (1968). ''Boss Cox's Cincinnati: urban politics in the progressive era''. Oxford University Press, LC #68-29722. Reprint: Ohio State University Press (2000)
External links
"Henry T. Hunt and civic reform in Cincinnati, 1903-1913"- Landon Warner's scholarly article published in ''Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly''.
"Mayor Henry T. Hunt aids victims of Ohio flood."Arlington National Cemetery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunt, Henry Thomas
Mayors of Cincinnati
History of Cincinnati
Ohio Democrats
Yale University alumni
University of Cincinnati College of Law alumni
1878 births
1956 deaths
Burials at Arlington National Cemetery