Edward V. Babcock

This article is about the mayor of Pittsburgh, for other people named Edward Babcock see Edward Babcock (disambiguation).

"Edward V. Babcock" (January 31 , 1864 –September 2 , 1948 ), served as Mayor of Pittsburgh from 1918 to 1922 .

Early life

Edward Vose Babcock entered the lumber business from an early age. He ran successfully for City Council in 1911 and began making a political name for himself.

Pittsburgh politics

Pittsburgh in 1920

Unlike his predecessor "Joe the builder", Babcock's administration had little time to implement much policy, they were too busy dealing with the triple threat of a massive steel strike that created much social dissension and unrest, the 1918-1919 flu pandemic that hit Pittsburgh especially hard, all this while at the family dinnertables and company lunch rooms around the city the women's suffrage movement tested the strength of families and employers. Despite all of those challenges to Babcock's focus on his agenda, he did make some lasting accomplishments including expansion and groundbreaking of new parks and playgrounds, along with the modernization of some key traffic arteries within the city. In response to the suffrage movement, Babcock became the first mayor to appoint a woman to a cabinet level position within the city.

Later life

After leaving the mayor's office Babcock continued his political career at the county level, becoming a commissioner in 1927. During his rule of Allegheny County he was successful in pushing through the opening of the Allegheny County Airport in West Mifflin, he also was instrumental in providing county help to the city for the opening of the triplet bridges (6th, 7th and 9th Street Bridges). He was also extremely generous, purchasing at personal expense 4,000 acres (16 km²) of land for the expansive "North Park" and "South Park" in the county. He retired in 1931 and died in 1948, being buried in Homewood Cemetery.

Honors

Babcock Boulevard in the North Hills of Pittsburgh is named for him.

References