Louis Denison Taylor

Louis Denison Taylor (born July 22, 1857 in Ann Arbor , Michigan , † June 4, 1946 in Vancouver ; often called LD Taylor ) was a Canadian journalist, publisher and politician. Between 1910 and 1934 he held the post of mayor of Vancouver four times. His term of office of eleven years is the longest ever.

biography

Little is known about Taylor's early life. He first appeared in Chicago in 1896 , where he was co-president of a banking institution called North & Taylor . When the bank ran into financial difficulties, his partner, who was considered the main suspect, fled to Mexico . Taylor was arrested for alleged embezzlement, spent one night in jail and was released on bail. When more lawsuits were brought against him, he fled to Canada .

Taylor settled in Vancouver and worked for The Province newspaper . In 1905 he bought the Vancouver Daily World and worked as a publisher. In 1910 he was elected mayor for the first time and initially held this office for two years. In 1912 he had the World Building built for his newspaper , which is now called the Sun Tower and is one of the city's landmarks. The second term of office followed in 1915, which lasted one year. His politics were shaped by social democrats. Taylor fought against corporate influence and advocated workers' concerns. But he also called for immigration restrictions for the Chinese.

Because of financial difficulties he had to sell his newspaper to the Vancouver Sun in 1924 and decided to get back into politics. In 1925 he was elected for the third time. Taylor successfully advocated the incorporation of South Vancouver and Point Gray, which was completed in 1929. In 1928 he had to face a committee of inquiry because he was accused of being too lenient towards prostitution and gambling. Taylor argued that he was not elected to run a "Sunday School" and that fighting violent crime was far more important.

After he had to give up his office for two years to William Harold Malkin , he was re-elected mayor in 1931. During his fourth term of office, the opening of Vancouver Airport falls, among other things , but he also had to deal with the social consequences of the global economic crisis . In 1934 Taylor was voted out of office.

literature

• Daniel Francis: LD - Mayor Louis Taylor and the Rise of Vancouver. Arsenal Pulp Press, Vancouver 2004. ISBN 1-55152-156-3

Web links

• Entry on vancouverhistory.com
• Article on LD Taylor from Canada's National History Society