James William Reid (1917-1972) was an American politician who served as the Mayor of Raleigh, North Carolina.

Early life

James Reid was born on September 15, 1917, in

Asheville, North Carolina Asheville ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Buncombe County, North Carolina. Located at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, it is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the state's 11th-most populous cit ...

, to William Ernest Reid and Bessie Perkinson. During his early childhood, he lived across from Thomas Wolfe, who depicted Reid's family in his novel '' Look Homeward, Angel'' as the Tarkinton family. Reid attended the then Mars Hill Junior College (now Mars Hill University) and graduated from Wake Forest College (now Wake Forest University) in 1937 with a degree in physics.

Commercial career

From 1938 to 1942, Reid worked as a staff announcer for radio stations in Asheville,

Wilson Wilson may refer to: People * Wilson (name) ** List of people with given name Wilson ** List of people with surname Wilson * Wilson (footballer, 1927–1998), Brazilian manager and defender * Wilson (footballer, born 1984), full name Wilson Ro ...

Greenville, South Carolina Greenville (; locally ) is a city in and the seat of Greenville County, South Carolina, United States. With a population of 70,720 at the 2020 census, it is the sixth-largest city in the state. Greenville is located approximately halfway be ...

, and Raleigh. In 1942, Reid entered the Naval Air Force for World War II, where he served in the Aleutian Islands for two years and afterwards was a radar officer at

Adak Adak may refer to: Places *Adak Island, one of the Aleutian Islands ** Adak, Alaska, a town on the above island ** Adak Airport, airport serving the town ***Adak Army Airfield, original name of the airport (1942–c.1943) *** Davis Army Airfield, ...

Kodiak Kodiak may refer to: Places *Kodiak, Alaska, a city located on Kodiak island * Kodiak, Missouri, an unincorporated community *Kodiak Archipelago, in southern Alaska *Kodiak Island, the largest island of the Kodiak archipelago ** Kodiak Launch Com ...

, Attu. He finished his service with the

Bureau of Ships The United States Navy's Bureau of Ships (BuShips) was established by Congress on 20 June 1940, by a law which consolidated the functions of the Bureau of Construction and Repair (BuC&R) and the Bureau of Engineering (BuEng). The new bureau was to ...

in Washington D.C. He returned to radio station WPTF in Raleigh as staff announcer, sports director, and weather reporter; in 1958 he became manager of the Raleigh office of WTVD television station. From October 1960 until his death he was senior vice-president of

Branch Banking and Trust Company BB&T Corporation (previously known as the Branch Banking and Trust Company) was one of the largest banking and financial services firms in the United States, based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. In 2019, BB&T announced its intentions to merg ...

in Raleigh.

Political career

Reid was sworn-in as the Mayor of Raleigh on July 1, 1963.

Personal life

Reid married his wife, Mary Elizabeth Davis, on February 7, 1948, in Wadesboro, North Carolina. They had two sons, Michael E and James William Jr., and a daughter, Nancy K.

Death

James Reid died on June 19, 1972, in Raleigh, North Carolina, from a heart attack at the age of 54.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reid, James 1917 births 1972 deaths 20th-century mayors of places in North Carolina Mayors of Raleigh, North Carolina Politicians from Asheville, North Carolina North Carolina Democrats Mars Hill University alumni Wake Forest University alumni