Mark Matthew Fagan
27th and 29th Mayor of Jersey City
In office
1902–1907
Preceded byEdward Hoos
Succeeded byH. Otto Wittpenn
In office
1913–1917
Preceded byH. Otto Wittpenn
Succeeded byFrank Hague
Personal details
Born(1869-09-29)September 29, 1869
Jersey City, New Jersey
DiedJuly 16, 1955(1955-07-16) (aged 85)
Jersey City, New Jersey
Political partyIndependent Democrat
Republican
Residence(s)Jersey City, New Jersey

Mark Matthew Fagan (September 29, 1869 – July 16, 1955) was an Irish Catholic mayor of Jersey City, New Jersey, United States, from 1902 to 1907 and 1913 to 1917.[1]

Biography

He was born on September 29, 1869, in Jersey City. He had little formal education, and as a youth, he worked for his uncle as an undertaker. A Republican, he entered politics while still in his twenties becoming a county freeholder though he was not re-elected.

In 1901, Republican Party boss, Colonel Samuel D. Dickinson, asked him to run for mayor, which Fagan did and won becoming the 27th mayor of Jersey City. At age 32, he was the youngest mayor elected in Jersey City until that time and only the fifth Republican. He was re-elected for three consecutive two-year terms however, after feuding with his own party, he was defeated for re-election in 1907 by H. Otto Wittpenn. He unsuccessfully ran again in 1909.

In 1913, Jersey City went to a city commission form of government, and Fagan was elected commissioner. He was then chosen by his colleagues to be mayor once more. As mayor, he was famous for building schools. In 1917, he stepped down as mayor, retired from politics and continued his career as an undertaker.

Political boss Frank Hague succeeded him as mayor. It would be 75 years before another Republican, Bret Schundler, would be elected mayor of Jersey City.[2]

Fagan died on July 16, 1955, and was buried in Holy Name Cemetery in Jersey City.[3][4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Jersey City's New Mayor. Mark M. Fagan Makes Public His Appointments. Office Holders Selected from the Democratic as Well as the Republican Party". New York Times. January 1, 1901. Retrieved 2008-04-23. Mark M. Fagan, Jersey City's new Republican Mayor, will enter upon his duties at noon today, when he and Edward Hoos, the retiring Mayor, who is a Democrat, will receive calls together in the Mayor's office at the City Hall. Mayor Fagan announced his appointments yesterday.
  2. ↑ Sullivan, Joseph F. (1993-05-12). "Mayor of Jersey City Wins Re-election". New York Times.
  3. ↑ Holy Name Cemetery, The Political Graveyard. Accessed August 15, 2007.
  4. ↑ "Ex-Mayor Fagan Ill in Jersey". New York Times. March 19, 1955. Retrieved 2008-04-23.

Further reading

  • Noble, Ransom E. New Jersey Progressivism Before Wilson (Princeton UP, 1946) online.


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