Rhinelander Waldo (born 1877, died August 13,1927 in Garrison, New York) was appointed the 7th Fire Commissioner of the City of New York by Mayor William Jay Gaynor on January 3, 1910, and on May 23, 1911 resigned his position to accept an appointment as New York City Police Commissioner. He served as the 8th Police Commissioner of the City of New York from May 23, 1911 to the end of the Kline Administration on December 31, 1913. Waldo was the Fire Commissioner at the time of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire which occurred on March 25, 1911 and killed 147 people. [1] Organized under the "Office of Street Traffic Regulation Bureau," the "Motor-cycle Squad" was founded by Police Commissioner Rhinelander Waldo on June 9, 1911, only 17 days after he took office. [2] He was portrayed by James Cagney in the 1981 film, Ragtime, despite the age difference (Cagney was 81 years old when he filmed this movie; the real Commissioner Rhinelander Waldo was only 32 at the time in which the movie was set).
| Preceded by Nicholas J. Hayes |
FDNY Commissioner 1910-1911 |
Succeeded by Joseph Johnson |
| Preceded by James C. Cropsey |
NYPD Commissioner 1911-1913 |
Succeeded by Douglas I. McKay |
References
- GAYNOR PUTS WALDO IN CROPSEY'S PLACE; Tells Him to Banish Favoritism from Police as He Did from Fire Department - New York Times article: May 24, 1911
- WALDO, 50, DIES OF SEPTIC POISONING; Former Police and Fire Head Succumbs at Garrison, N.Y., of an Old Ailment. SERVED IN THE PHILIPPINES Arduous Labors There Blamed for Fatal Illness. Storm Centre While In Office Here - New York Times article: August 14, 1927
External links
See also
Ragtime - A 1981 motion picture featuring a fictionalized Rhinelander Waldo portrayed by film legend, James Cagney, in his last role.
