John Anson Ford (September 29, 1883 – November 3, 1983)California Death Index
, retrieved November 8, 2011 was an American journalist, advertising executive and Democratic Party politician. He was a long-serving member of the

Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors (LACBOS) is the five-member governing body of Los Angeles County, California, United States. History On April 1, 1850 the citizens of Los Angeles elected a three-man Court of Sessions as their first ...

Career and politics

Ford was born in

Waukegan, Illinois ''(Fortress or Trading Post)'' , image_flag = , image_seal = , blank_emblem_size = 150 , blank_emblem_type = Logo , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_type1 = State , subdivisi ...

.''New York Times'' obituary, published November 5, 1983
retrieved November 7, 2011. He attended

Beloit College Beloit College is a private liberal arts college in Beloit, Wisconsin. Founded in 1846, when Wisconsin was still a territory, it is the state's oldest continuously operated college. It is a member of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest and has ...

Beloit, Wisconsin Beloit is a city in Rock County, Wisconsin, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 36,657 people. History Twelve men in Colebrook, New Hampshire, created the "New England Emigrating Company" in October 1836 and sent ...

, taught history and economics, then moved to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, where he worked on the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

''. He was on the editorial board of ''

Popular Mechanics ''Popular Mechanics'' (sometimes PM or PopMech) is a magazine of popular science and technology, featuring automotive, home, outdoor, electronics, science, do-it-yourself, and technology topics. Military topics, aviation and transportation o ...

''. In 1920 he came to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

and entered the advertising and publicity business.Inventory of the John Anson Ford Papers, 1928-1971
at Online Archive of California. Ford represented District 3 on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors from 1934 to 1958. He was active in

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

politics, serving on the state Central Committee, as chair of the Los Angeles County Democratic Party, as delegate to

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 ...

s from California, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senator from California, 1940,The Political Graveyard
Ford page and as chairman of the Southern California Citizens for

Kennedy Kennedy may refer to: People * John F. Kennedy (1917–1963), 35th president of the United States * John Kennedy (Louisiana politician), (born 1951), US Senator from Louisiana * Kennedy (surname), a family name (including a list of persons with t ...

Committee. On his motion, in 1944, the Board of Supervisors established the Joint Committee for Interracial Progress that later became the Human Relations Commission. After retiring, Ford "wrote regular newspaper columns and continued to give service to the community at large." The John Anson Ford Human Relations Award is named for him, as are the

John Anson Ford Amphitheatre The John Anson Ford Theatre is a music venue in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The 1,200-seat outdoor amphitheater is situated within the Cahuenga Pass within the Santa Monica Mountains. Located in a County regional pa ...

, and John Anson Ford Park in

Bell Gardens, California Bell Gardens is a city in the U.S. state of California in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. Located in Los Angeles County, the city's population was 42,072 at the 2010 census, down from 44,054 at the 2000 census. Bell Gardens is part of the G ...

.Bell Gardens Recreation Services
/ref> John Anson Ford died at Midway Hospital in Los Angeles. He is buried in

Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale Forest Lawn Memorial Park is a privately owned cemetery in Glendale, California. It is the original and current flagship location of Forest Lawn Memorial-Parks & Mortuaries, a chain of six cemeteries and four additional mortuaries in Southern Cal ...

Bibliography

*"Thirty Explosive Years in Los Angeles County", University of California Press, 2010

References

External links

Transcript of an eight-hour interview – Ford discusses his life and career in Los Angeles
at The UCLA Oral History Program. 1883 births 1983 deaths People from Los Angeles County, California People from Waukegan, Illinois Beloit College alumni Writers from California Writers from Illinois Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors California Democrats Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale) 20th-century American politicians American centenarians Men centenarians {{California-politician-stub