Wallace G. Nye
Wallace G. Nye | |
|---|---|
 Wallace George Nye, c. 1897 | |
| 25th Mayor of Minneapolis | |
| In office 1913–1917 | |
| Preceded by | J. C. Haynes |
| Succeeded by | Thomas Van Lear |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Wallace George Nye October 7, 1859 Hortonville, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Died | March 4, 1926 (aged 66) Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Alma mater | University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh |
| Profession | Educator, druggist |
Wallace George Nye (October 7, 1859 – March 4, 1926) was the 25th mayor of Minneapolis, Minnesota from 1913 to 1917.
Life and career
[edit]Nye was born in Hortonville, Wisconsin in 1859. He attended local schools and the University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh and spent several years after college working as a school principal. In 1881, he left for Chicago, Illinois to study pharmacy. Instead of returning home to Wisconsin after finishing, he decided to relocate to Minneapolis and began a drug business there. He also became active in local Republican politics, winning election as Minneapolis comptroller in 1892 to 1894 and also serving on the park board.[1] In 1905, Nye was a leading member of the Minneapolis Public Affairs Committee, a non-governmental organization dedicated to the business and municipal affairs of the city.[2]
He was elected mayor in 1912, defeating Democrat Charles Gould and Socialist Thomas Van Lear.[3] During his term as mayor, Nye was involved in a controversy over the exhibition of the film The Birth of a Nation in Minneapolis. Nye opposed the showing of the film and stated he would put a stop to it, but a district court judge issued an injunction ordering Nye not to interfere. When that injunction was reversed just a week later, screenings of the film were stopped out of fear Nye would intervene. Nye eventually accepted a proposal to form a public censorship committee to review the film and to abide by their decision. When the committee met and a majority approved the film, Nye stood aside and let the film be shown.[4]
Nye was defeated by Van Lear in the 1916 mayoral election, mainly due to a financial scandal involving financing of the city's streetcar system and Nye's supplying of police protection to scab workers during a general Teamsters strike.[5]
Nye died at his home in Minneapolis on March 4, 1926.[6] He is buried at Lakewood Cemetery in Minneapolis.
References
[edit]- ^ Shutter, Marion Daniel (1897). Progressive Men of Minnesota. Minneapolis: The Minneapolis Journal. p. 86.
- ^ Danenbaum, Ruby (September 1905). "City of Minneapolis". New England Magazine. p. 62. Retrieved October 28, 2010.
- ^ Nord, David Paul (1976). "Minneapolis and the Pragmatic Socialism of Thomas Van Lear" (PDF). Minnesota History. Minnesota Historical Society: 6. Retrieved October 28, 2010.
- ^ Kenney, Dave (2007). Twin Cities Picture Show: A Century of Moviegoing. Minnesota Historical Society. pp. 30-31. ISBN 978-0-87351-595-5.
Wallace Nye minneapolis.
- ^ O'Connell, Thomas Gerald (1979). Toward the Cooperative Commonwealth: An Introductory History of the Farmer-Labor Movement in Minnesota (1917-1948) (Ph.D. thesis). Union Institute & University. Retrieved October 28, 2010.
- ^ "One Time Mayor of Minneapolis, W. G. Nye, Dead". The Post-Crescent. New London. March 5, 1926. p. 10. Retrieved January 26, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
