J. Wyeth Chandler
J. Wyeth Chandler (February 21, 1930 – November 11, 2004)[1] served as mayor of Memphis, Tennessee from 1972 to 1982. He was the adopted son of former Memphis mayor and U.S. Representative Walter Chandler. Chandler succeeded the controversial Henry Loeb, who battled local sanitation workers during a strike that brought Martin Luther King, Jr. to Memphis in April 1968.
J. Wyeth Chandler | |
|---|---|
| Mayor of Memphis, Tennessee | |
| In office 1972–1982 | |
| Preceded by | Henry Loeb |
| Succeeded by | J.O. Patterson, Jr. |
This violence-ridden episode in the city's history resulted in King's death by assassin James Earl Ray on April 4. Chandler spent much of his tenure dealing with the economic and social fallout from the strike and the killing, as the incidents gave the city a bad name among business and charitable interests for some years.
Chandler was mayor at the time of Elvis Presley's death in 1977, and during the police and firemen's strike the following year. Some Memphians criticized his administration as too "status quo", but he was undeniably popular, winning three consecutive elections.
After resigning from office to accept a judgeship appointment from the Governor of Tennessee, Lamar Alexander, Chandler was succeeded by two interim mayors: first by J.O. Patterson, Jr. (the first-ever African-American to serve in the office), then by Wallace Madewell. The next regularly elected mayor was Richard Hackett, who served from 1983 to 1991.
References
- "Wyeth Chandler". Fold3. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
External links
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Henry Loeb |
Mayor of Memphis, Tennessee 1972 - 1982 |
Succeeded by J.O. Patterson, Jr. |