Wallace G. Nye

Wallace George Nye (1859 - 1926) was the mayor of Minneapolis, Minnesota from 1913 to 1917.

Contents

Biography

Early life

Nye was born in Hortonville, Wisconsin on October 17, 1859.[1]

Career

Nye worked in Minneapolis as a pharmacist.[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 Democrate Charles Gould and Socialist Thomas Van Lear.[3] During his tenure, he was involved in a controversy over the exhibition of the film Birth of a Nation in Minneapolis.[4] Nye opposed the showing of the film, but was enjoined by a district court judge. When that injunction was overruled, Nye barred further exhibitions of the film until an ad hoc board of censors reviewed and approved the film.[4]

Nye was defeated by Van Lear in the 1916 mayoral election, mainly on the strength of two issues:

Death

Nye died March 4, 1926, and is interred at Lakewood Cemetery.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Wallace G. Nye". Political Graveyard. http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/MN/HE.html. 
  2. ^ Danenbaum, Ruby (September 1905). "City of Minneapolis". New England Magazine: p. 62. http://books.google.com/books?id=OqYTAAAAYAAJ&dq=%22Wallace+Nye%22+%2BMinneapolis&source=gbs_navlinks_s. Retrieved 28 October 2010. 
  3. ^ Nord, David Paul (1976). "Minneapolis and the Pragmatic Socialism of Thomas Van Lear". Minnesota History (Minnesota Historical Society): 6. http://collections.mnhs.org/MNHistoryMagazine/articles/45/v45i01p002-010.pdf. Retrieved 28 October 2010. 
  4. ^ a b Kenney, Dave (2007). Minnesota Historical Society. p. 30. ISBN 9780873515955. 
  5. ^ a b 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. http://justcomm.org/fla-hist.htm. Retrieved 28 October 2010.