Mark Matthew Fagan (September 29, 1869 – July 16, 1955) was an

Irish Catholic Irish Catholics are an ethnoreligious group native to Ireland whose members are both Catholic and Irish. They have a large diaspora, which includes over 36 million American citizens and over 14 million British citizens (a quarter of the British ...

mayor of

Jersey City, New Jersey Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, from 1902 to 1907 and 1913 to 1917.

Biography

He was born on September 29, 1869 in Jersey City. He had little formal education, and as a youth, he worked for his uncle as an undertaker. A

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 ...

, he entered politics while still in his twenties becoming a county freeholder though he was not re-elected. In 1901, Republican Party boss, Colonel

Samuel D. Dickinson Samuel ''Šəmūʾēl'', Tiberian: ''Šămūʾēl''; ar, شموئيل or صموئيل '; el, Σαμουήλ ''Samouḗl''; la, Samūēl is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the bibl ...

, asked him to run for mayor, which Fagan did and won becoming the 27th

mayor of Jersey City The Mayor of the City of Jersey City is the head of the executive branch of the government of Jersey City, New Jersey, United States. The mayor has the duty to enforce the municipal charter and ordinances; prepare the annual budget; appoint depu ...

. At age 32, he was the youngest mayor elected in Jersey City until that time and only the fifth Republican. He was re-elected for three consecutive two-year terms however, after feuding with his own party, he was defeated for re-election in 1907 by

H. Otto Wittpenn Henry Otto Wittpenn (October 23, 1871 – July 25, 1931) was an American politician who served as the Mayor of Jersey City, New Jersey from January 1, 1908 to June 16, 1913. He was a member of the New Jersey State Highway Commission and was the p ...

. He unsuccessfully ran again in 1909. In 1913, Jersey City went to a city commission form of government, and Fagan was elected commissioner. He was then chosen by his colleagues to be mayor once more. As mayor, he was famous for building schools. In 1917, he stepped down as mayor, retired from politics and continued his career as an undertaker. Political boss

Frank Hague Frank Hague (January 17, 1876 – January 1, 1956) was an American Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party politician who served as the Mayor of Jersey City, New Jersey from 1917 to 1947, Democratic National Committeeman from New Jerse ...

succeeded him as mayor. It would be 75 years before another Republican,

Bret Schundler Bret D. Schundler (born January 14, 1959) is an American Republican politician from New Jersey. Schundler was the mayor of Jersey City from 1992 until 2001. Schundler was the city's first Republican mayor since 1917. He ran for Governor of New Je ...

, would be elected mayor of Jersey City. Fagan died on July 16, 1955 and was buried in Holy Name Cemetery in Jersey City.

References

External links

* Chapter 1 of ''Upbuilders'' by

Lincoln Steffens Lincoln Austin Steffens (April 6, 1866 – August 9, 1936) was an American investigative journalist and one of the leading muckrakers of the Progressive Era in the early 20th century. He launched a series of articles in ''McClure's'', called "Twe ...

* 1869 births 1955 deaths Mayors of Jersey City, New Jersey New Jersey Republicans American people of Irish descent Burials at Holy Name Cemetery (Jersey City, New Jersey) {{NewJersey-mayor-stub

Biography

See also

References

Further reading

External links