Theodore Roosevelt McKeldin (November 20, 1900August 10, 1974) was an American politician. He was a member of the
Republican Party, served as
mayor of Baltimore twice, from 1943 to 1947 and again from 1963 to 1967. McKeldin was the
53rd Governor of Maryland from 1951 to 1959.
Early life
McKeldin was born in
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
. His father had worked as a stonecutter and later was a
Baltimore City police officer. He had 10 other siblings. McKeldin attended the noted academic all-male third oldest public high school in America at
The Baltimore City College at night in the "Evening High School of Baltimore" program by the
Baltimore City Public Schools
Baltimore City Public Schools (BCPS), also referred to as Baltimore City Public School System (BCPSS) or City Schools, is a public school district in the city of Baltimore, state of Maryland, United States. It serves the youth of Baltimore Cit ...
while working as a bank clerk during the day. The City College was then located at the southwest corner of North Howard and West Centre Streets since 1875, then in the late 1910s when McKeldin attended until it moved in 1928. He graduated later from the
University of Maryland Law School
The University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law (formerly University of Maryland School of Law) is the law school of the University of Maryland, Baltimore and is located in Baltimore City, Maryland, U.S. Its location places Maryland ...
at the
original campus of the University of Maryland in
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
in 1925, and passed into the Maryland Bar. Two years later, he began his political ascent when worked as a secretary to Mayor
William F. Broening (1870–1953, served two terms as mayor, 1919–1923 and 1927–1931), one of the few
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 ...
mayors of the city. McKeldin was also a vice president of the local chapter of the
U.S. Junior Chamber of Commerce. In 1934, he was a founding member of
Santa Claus Anonymous
Santa Claus Anonymous, Inc is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and a long time, Baltimore City based charity that provides gift certificates to families in Baltimore City and seven neighboring counties in Maryland during the holida ...
, a charity organization started during the "
Great Depression" of the 1930s to support children in need, showing his early sense of social consciousness.
Political career
McKeldin challenged the
Democratic incumbent
Mayor of Baltimore,
Howard W. Jackson
Howard Wilkinson Jackson (August 4, 1877August 31, 1960) was the Mayor of Baltimore, Maryland for two separate mayoral administrations, the first of four years from 1923 to 1927 and the second administration of three terms of four years each (12 ye ...
, in the municipal election of 1939, but McKeldin was defeated in the election. He went on challenging incumbent
Maryland Governor
The Governor of the State of Maryland is the head of government of Maryland, and is the commander-in-chief of the state's National Guard units. The Governor is the highest-ranking official in the state and has a broad range of appointive powers ...
in the
State House three years later -
Herbert R. O'Conor in the state election of 1942, and again was defeated at the polls in this heavily leaning Democratic controlled state.
McKeldin persisted, and he was elected mayor of Baltimore in 1943. As mayor, he oversaw the construction of
Friendship Airport
Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport , commonly referred to as BWI or BWI Marshall, is an international airport in the Eastern United States serving mainly Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, D.C. With Dulles Internati ...
, (since renamed
Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport
Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport , commonly referred to as BWI or BWI Marshall, is an international airport in the Eastern United States serving mainly Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, D.C. With Dulles Interna ...
). However, Baltimore saw hard times during this period following the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
, with the inner city decaying,
ghetto
A ghetto, often called ''the'' ghetto, is a part of a city in which members of a minority group live, especially as a result of political, social, legal, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished t ...
s forming, and
racial prejudice
Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...
still present in government policy-making. McKeldin ran a second time for governor in 1946, challenging
William Preston Lane Jr., but was defeated yet again.
McKeldin ran for governor a third time in 1950, successfully defeating Lane in a rematch. As governor, McKeldin endeavored to improve the state highway system, namely by establishing the
Baltimore Beltway (now I-695), the
Capital Beltway
The Capital Beltway is a Interstate Highway in the Washington metropolitan area that surrounds Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States, and its inner suburbs in adjacent Maryland and Virginia. It is the basis of the phrase " inside ...
(I-495), and the
John Hanson Highway
U.S. Route 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching just over from Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlantic Ocean to West Sacramento, California. In the U.S. state of Maryland, US 50 exists in two section ...
(US 50 between
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
and the state capital at
Annapolis). He was a staunch supporter of interstate cooperation, saying once: "I rode by
train
In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often ...
over several state borders. I carried no passports. No one asked me to identify myself. No one had the right to. This is America." He was also an advocate for
civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life o ...
for
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
s and was awarded the
Sidney Hollander Award.
[Maryland Historical Society: Sidney Hollander Collection 1926–1972]
/ref>
In 1952 McKeldin was a major figure in the moderate Republicans of the East Coast who were instrumental in gaining the Republican nomination for president for former five-star General and World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
Commander in Europe and later briefly president of Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
in New York City - Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...
of Kansas. Speaking in the stentorian tones that were common for the time, McKeldin delivered the principal nominating speech for the former general at the July 1952 Republican National Convention
The 1952 Republican National Convention was held at the International Amphitheatre in Chicago, Illinois from July 7 to 11, 1952, and nominated the popular general and war hero Dwight D. Eisenhower of New York, nicknamed "Ike," for president an ...
in Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
.
In 1954, he was re-elected against Democratic nominee former "Terrapins" football player and coach becoming University of Maryland at College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the Flagship un ...
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
Harry C."Curley" Byrd by 54.46% to 45.54% who had attracted white segregationist support for his resistance to Black student enrollment at UMD. After his second term in Government House, McKeldin retired in 1959 from the governorship and returned to his law practice in Baltimore, succeeded by lower Eastern Shore Democrat J. Millard Tawes of Crisfield. Four years later in 1963, he returned to public service after again being elected to a second non-consecutive term once again as mayor of his beloved hometown of Baltimore, focusing on the urban renewal
Urban renewal (also called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address urban decay in cities. Urban renewal involves the clearing out of blighte ...
of the Baltimore Inner Harbor. He saw the city council vote to condemn 700 homes of the Rosemont neighborhood in 1966 to build the East West Expressway "Highway to nowhere" that he started as a project with Robert Moses in 1941. McKeldin served his second term as mayor until 1967.
To date, McKeldin is the last Republican mayor of Baltimore; indeed, he is the last Republican mayoral candidate to win even 25 percent of the vote. He is the first of only two Republican governors in Maryland to be re-elected, the other being Larry Hogan, who was reelected in 2018.
Personal
Theodore McKeldin was born in Baltimore, Maryland
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
, attending Maryland public schools and later graduating from Baltimore City College. He furthered his education by earning his law degree from the University of Maryland School of Law
The University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law (formerly University of Maryland School of Law) is the law school of the University of Maryland, Baltimore and is located in Baltimore City, Maryland, U.S. Its location places Maryland L ...
in 1925 and with some graduate work at Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...
. McKeldin married Honolulu Claire Manzer on October 17, 1924. They had two children, Theodore Jr. and Clara.
He died on August 10, 1974, and is buried in Greenmount Cemetery
Green Mount Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Established on March 15, 1838, and dedicated on July 13, 1839, it is noted for the large number of historical figures interred in its grounds as well as man ...
.
Dedications
* McKeldin Center at Morgan State University
Morgan State University (Morgan State or MSU) is a public historically black research university in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the largest of Maryland's historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). In 1867, the university, then known a ...
br>
* McKeldin Library and McKeldin Mall at the University of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...
br>
* Theodore McKeldin Gymnasium at Bowie State University
Bowie State University (Bowie State) is a public historically black university in Prince George's County, Maryland, north of Bowie. It is part of the University System of Maryland. Founded in 1865, Bowie State is Maryland's oldest historically ...
br>
*McKeldin Building at Springfield Hospital Center
Springfield Hospital Center is a regional psychiatric hospital located in Sykesville, Maryland, United States. It first opened in 1896.
William Patterson, a founder of the B&O railroad, built Springfield as a summer home and slave plantation on ...
*McKeldin Beltway, though still widely known as the Baltimore Beltway or Interstate 695
*McKeldin Area, Patapsco Valley State Park
Patapsco Valley State Park is a Maryland state park extending along of the Patapsco River south and west of the city of Baltimore, Maryland. The park encompasses multiple developed areas on over acres of land, making it Maryland's largest st ...
br>
*McKeldin Planetarium at St. John's College (Annapolis/Santa Fe), St. John's College
References
General references
Theodore R. McKeldin biography from the Maryland State Archives.
Accessed Oct 25, 2004.
Theodore R. McKeldin papers
at University of Maryland Libraries.
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:McKeldin, Theodore
1900 births
1974 deaths
20th-century American politicians
Republican Party governors of Maryland
Mayors of Baltimore
Politicians from Baltimore
University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law alumni
Baltimore City College alumni
20th-century American Episcopalians