Jack Christian

John "Jack" Christian (January 22, 1911–December 31, 1972 )^[1] was a businessman who served from 1957-1964 as the Mayor/President of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.^[2]

Background

Christian was born to John C. Christian and the former Bessie Nicholson (1884–1971)^[1] in Vicksburg, the seat of Warren County in western Mississippi, located on the Mississippi River and site of an American Civil War siege. He was educated in the Vicksburg public school and then studied engineering at Louisiana State University, which brought him to Baton Rouge. From 1930-1937, he was employed by his father's automobile agency, Christian & Brough Company in Vicksburg. From 1937-1938, he was a representative of the Yellow Truck and Coach Manufacturing Company with duties in Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Arkansas. In 1938, he founded Baton Rouge Motors Company, with a franchise for Cadillac, La Salle, and Oldsmobile vehicles.^[3]

Christian's work was interrupted by World War II, when he at thirty-one joined the United States Naval Reserve and served, accordingly, from 1942 to 1945. He was discharged from the military at the rank of lieutenant. After the war, he headed from 1946-1951 Jack Christian Motor Company in Baton Rouge. From 1952-1956, he was the sales manager of McInnes Chevrolet.^[3]

In 1942, Christian married the former Caryol (Toby) Caulfield at the First Presbyterian Church in New Orleans. The couple had no children. He was Episcopalian. Christian was active in the Lions Club, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Fraternal Order of Eagles, and the American Legion.^[3]

Political career

From 1953-1956, Christian served part-time on the Baton Rouge City-Parish Council, a combined municipal/parish operation, a hybrid of a city council member and a county commissioner, originally launched in East Baton Rouge Parish on January 1, 1949.^[2][4] On August 22, 1956, Christian was elected Mayor-President and served from January 1, 1957, to December 31, 1964. In office, he introduced a major medical insurance policy for city-parish employees, created a system of job classification and salary schedules for the employees, and introduced a $21 million sewer expansion project.^[3] He succeeded Mrs. Jesse L. Webb, Jr., who had served only a few femaining months of her husband's term.^[2]

In October 1959, Christian, citing traffic and safety concerns, moved trick-or-treating from Saturday, October 31 (Halloween), to Friday, October 30, in order to accommodate the LSU Tigers football game.^[5] During the game, Billy Cannon returned a punt against the Ole Miss Rebels, resulting in an 89-yard touchdown that helped to keep LSU undefeated and secured Cannon the Heisman Trophy, making him the only Tiger to have won the trophy thus far.^[5]

On August 29, 1964, Christian was defeated for renomination by his fellow Democrat Woodrow Wilson Dumas,^[3] a member of the parish council since 1953, who had served his first term on the body alongside Christian. Dumas served four terms as mayor-president, with service ending in his 1980 defeat by the Democrat Pat Screen.^[2]

After his mayoral tenure, Christian was until his death the vice president and general manager of McInnes-Peterson Chevrolet. He died in Baton Rouge on the last day of 1972, three weeks shy of his 62nd birthday.^[3][6]

References