Tom L. Johnson

Tom L. Johnson, 1896

Thomas "Tom" Loftin Johnson (born July 18, 1854 in Georgetown , Kentucky , † April 10, 1911 in Cleveland , Ohio ) was an American politician of the Democratic Party . From 1891 to 1895 he was a member of the House of Representatives of the United States for 21  congressional districts of the State of Ohio. Between 1901 and 1905 he was the 35th mayor of Cleveland.

biography

Tom L. Johnson was born in Georgetown. He took up his first job at a railway company, where he was able to quickly find a responsible position. He invented a pay box for cars and became a wealthy man by filing a patent. He then invested in road construction in Indianapolis , Detroit and Cleveland. Johnson was first elected to the US House of Representatives as the Democratic Party candidate in 1890 and was re-elected in 1892 . During his time in Congress he represented the 21st District of Ohio, he resigned from Congress in 1895. After leaving, he moved to Detroit, where he became the main owner and president of the Detroit City Railway (DCR). To return to politics and to Cleveland, he sold his shares in DCR in 1899. In Cleveland he was elected to the city council, which he presided over as mayor from 1901 to 1905. In 1905 he was a Democratic candidate in the gubernatorial elections in Ohio, but could not prevail against incumbent Myron T. Herrick . Johnson was seen as an advocate of uniform taxation, as advocated by Henry George . Today there is a statue of Johnson in Public Square in Cleveland holding a book by Henry George. Johnson died in Cleveland in 1911 and was buried in Greenwodd Cemetery.

Web links

Commons : Tom L. Johnson  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

• Tom L. Johnson in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• Tom L. Johnson in the database of Find a Grave (English)