Peter Roe Nugent (1893–September 24, 1975) was an American politician who served as mayor of

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...

and as vice-chairman and pioneer member of the

Georgia Ports Authority The Georgia Ports Authority, which was founded in 1945 and chaired by US. Colonel, Inventor and Engineer Dr. Blake Van Leer, operates port facilities in the U.S. state of Georgia. Georgia's primary deepwater ports are located in Savannah and ...

Biography

Nugent was born to a prominent

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

family in Savannah in 1893, the son of Nellie Roe and Thomas Nugent. His father was an immigrant from Australia and his mother a Savannah native. He graduated from the

Benedictine Military School Benedictine Military School (also referred to as Benedictine or BC) is an American Roman Catholic military high school for boys located in Savannah, Georgia, United States. It was founded in 1902 by the Benedictine monks of Savannah Priory, whic ...

and

Georgia Institute of Technology The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

. In 1915, he and his father started a bakery of which he became the proprietor. His sister, Helen Roe Nugent, served as president of the Savannah-Atlanta Diocesan Council of the National Council of Catholic Women. In 1937, he was elected to the City Council of Savannah. On November 4, 1942, he was named vice-chairman of the City Council after Harry B. Grimshaw was named chairman; and on January 22, 1945, he was named chairman. On July 25, 1945, he was elected mayor by the City Council upon the untimely death of mayor Thomas Gamble. While in office, Nugent was dedicated to developing the paper industry in the region, lead a campaign to test all 125,000 residents of the county for

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

and

syphilis Syphilis () is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium ''Treponema pallidum'' subspecies ''pallidum''. The signs and symptoms of syphilis vary depending in which of the four stages it presents (primary, secondary, latent, an ...

in order to treat and eradicate the diseases, presided over a state visit by

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

, conducted a major cleanup of the city after criticism from Lady Nancy Astor that Savannah was "like a beautiful woman with a dirty face" (she later apologized), and secured the establishment of a Savannah branch for

Georgia State University Georgia State University (Georgia State, State, or GSU) is a Public university, public research university in Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1913, it is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities. It is also the ...

(to serve freshman and sophomores). He declined to enter the race for mayor after the end of his term on January 27, 1947. The Democrat nominee for mayor was Democrat John G. Kennedy, of the Citizen's Progressive League which had been in opposition to his administration. Kennedy was the only candidate on the ballot in the general election although he accused unnamed members of the outgoing Nugant administration of illegally inserting 15–20,000 stick-in ballots for pasting on the general ballot. Kennedy won in a landslide and the entire City Council was replaced. From 1949 to 1955, he again served as chairman of the City Council during the administration of mayor Olin F. Fulmer and helped to facilitate the exchange of Savannah-owned

Hunter Field Hunter Army Airfield , located in Savannah, Georgia, United States, is a military airfield and subordinate installation to Fort Stewart located in Hinesville, Georgia. Hunter features a runway that is 11,375 feet (3,468 m) long and an Airpor ...

for the

Chatham Air Force Base Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport is a commercial and military-use airport in Savannah, Georgia, Savannah, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. Savannah/Hilton Head International provides travelers with access to Savannah, G ...

. In 1949, he was appointed by Governor

Herman Talmadge Herman Eugene Talmadge (August 9, 1913 – March 21, 2002) was an American politician who served as governor of Georgia in 1947 and from 1948 to 1955 and as a U.S. Senator from Georgia from 1957 to 1981. Talmadge, a Democrat, served during a tim ...

to the 3-member

and was soon after named vice-chairman. In 1950, Nugent helped to secure a $4,500,000 loan from the

Reconstruction Finance Corporation The Reconstruction Finance Corporation was a government corporation administered by the United States Federal Government between 1932 and 1957 that provided financial support to state and local governments and made loans to banks, railroads, mortgag ...

for

Port of Savannah The Port of Savannah is a major United States of America, U.S. seaport located at Savannah, Georgia, Savannah, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. As of 2021, the port was the third busiest seaport in the United States. Its facilities for oceangoing ...

expansion. He resigned from the Port Authority in 1955. Nugent was a former president of the Hibernian Society, the Chamber of Commerce, the Southern Baker's Association, and the Chatham County Board of Education.

Personal life

Lynch married Mary Louise Lynch of Savannah; they had four children: Mrs. J H. Clancy Jr., John Nugent, Thomas Nugent, and Mary Roe Nugent.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nugent, Peter Roe 1893 births 1975 deaths 20th-century mayors of places in Georgia (U.S. state) Mayors of Savannah, Georgia Politicians from Savannah, Georgia American people of Irish descent Georgia Tech alumni