John Montgomery Belk (March 29, 1920 – August 17, 2007) was head of the Belk, Inc. department store chain and member of the

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 ...

, he served as the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

for four terms (1969–1977). He was the son of William Henry Belk, who founded the first

Belk Belk, Inc. is an American department store chain founded in 1888 by William Henry Belk in Monroe, North Carolina, with nearly 300 locations in 16 states. Belk stores and Belk.com offer apparel, shoes, accessories, cosmetics, home furnishings, a ...

store in Monroe, North Carolina, in 1888.

Background

He was the longest-serving mayor of the city of Charlotte until

Pat McCrory Patrick Lloyd McCrory (born October 17, 1956) is an American businessman, politician and radio host who served as the 74th governor of North Carolina from 2013 to 2017. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 53rd Mayor ...

was elected to a fifth term. McCrory eventually left office in 2009, after his record seventh term. When Belk was reelected for the fourth time, he tied his immediate predecessor, Stan Brookshire, for the most terms as mayor (Brookshire was the mayor from 1961 to 1969), but a change in state law extended Belk's term six months longer than Brookshire's. Before he was mayor, Belk served on Brookshire's staff as the President of the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce. The John Belk Freeway, part of Interstate 277, is named in honor of him, and it connects to the

Brookshire Freeway Interstate 277 (I-277) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway in the US state of North Carolina. It serves as a partial loop around Uptown Charlotte. Route description I-277 is a four to eight-lane beltway that surrounds Uptown Charlotte. ...

, also a part of I-277. Also, ''Brookshire & Belk: Businessmen in City Hall'', a book written by Alex Coffin, chronicles the achievements of the two former mayors during their combined eight terms in office. Belk was also a member of the board of trustees of his alma mater, Davidson College, for almost 50 years. Davidson's sports arena is named

John M. Belk Arena John M. Belk Arena is a 5,295-seat multi-purpose arena, located on the campus of Davidson College, in Davidson, North Carolina, United States. It is named for Davidson alumnus and benefactor John M. Belk (1920–2007), class of 1943. As the cente ...

in his honor.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Belk, John 1920 births 2007 deaths American Presbyterians Davidson Wildcats men's basketball players Basketball players from North Carolina Businesspeople from Charlotte, North Carolina Mayors of Charlotte, North Carolina 20th-century American politicians American men's basketball players