William F. Kunze (June 1, 1872 – February 14, 1962) was an educator, banker and

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 ...

politician who served in the

Minnesota House of Representatives The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower house of the Legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota. There are 134 members, twice as many as the Minnesota Senate. Floor sessions are held in the north wing of the State Capitol in Saint ...

from 1911 to 1913 and as

mayor of Minneapolis This is a list of mayors of Minneapolis, Minnesota. The current mayor is Jacob Frey (DFL). Minneapolis From 1867 to 1878 mayors were elected for a 1-year term. Beginning in 1878 the term was extended to 2 years. As the city became larger and mo ...

from 1929 to 1931.

Life and career

Kunze was born in 1872 in

Sleepy Eye, Minnesota Sleepy Eye is a small city in rural Brown County, Minnesota, United States. The city is named after a famed local Dakota chief from the 1800s. The population was 3,599 at the 2010 census. History Sleepy Eye took its name from Sleepy Eye La ...

to Fred Kunze and Minnie Kunze (née Krueger). He attended school in

New Ulm, Minnesota New Ulm is a city in Brown County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 14,120 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Brown County. It is located on the triangle of land formed by the confluence of the Minnesota River and the ...

before moving to the Twin Cities to attend college. After taking preparatory classes at

Hamline University Hamline University is a private liberal arts college in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Founded in 1854, Hamline is known for its emphasis on experiential learning, service, and social justice. The university is named after Bishop Leonidas Lent Hamline ...

he transferred to the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...

where he graduated in 1897 with a degree in chemistry. Kunze worked as a teacher and school administrator for almost a decade holding positions in Lake City, Red Wing,

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

and

Saint Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

. In 1902 he married Galena Muedeking of

Owatonna, Minnesota Owatonna () is a city in Steele County, Minnesota, Steele County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 25,599 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. It is the county seat of Steele County. Owatonna is home to the Steele County Fair ...

with whom he had three children. Around 1910 he turned to a career in business and found work with a heating and ventilating company in Minneapolis. In 1910 he was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives for a single term. In 1922 he became a vice president with the Exchange State Bank (which later merged with the Marquette Trust Company). Kunze was elected Mayor of Minneapolis in 1928, serving one term. Kunze is believed to be one of the first Minnesotans to have ever appeared on

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

. WDGY radio (today known as KFAN) had started an experimental

mechanical television Mechanical television or mechanical scan television is a television system that relies on a mechanical scanning device, such as a rotating disk with holes in it or a rotating mirror drum, to scan the scene and generate the video signal, and a si ...

system using the call sign W9XAT. On September 29, 1930 at the Northwest Radio and Electrical Show a short demonstration was arranged broadcasting a shot of Kunze shaking hands with WDGY personality Clellan Card. This was the first demonstration of broadcast television in Minnesota. Kunze died on February 14, 1962.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kunze, William F. 1872 births 1962 deaths Mayors of Minneapolis Minnesota Republicans American people of German descent University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering alumni People from Sleepy Eye, Minnesota