Today is the birthday of William E. Dever, Chicago’s mayor from 1923 through 1927. It’s not only his birthday, it’s his Sesquicentennial. He was born 150 years ago today--March 13, 1862.
I wrote my doctoral dissertation on Mayor Dever. It was later published as a book, The Mayor Who Cleaned Up Chicago. More than twenty years later, the book is still in print. (Mainly because the first edition never sold out; that can happen with academic works.)
Why bother with an obscure, one-term mayor? I’ve already gone into that, and you can read the post here.
I don’t think the city is planning a special Dever Sesquicentennial celebration. As for me, I’m going to have a beer in honor of my man Dever. That’s probably the most appropriate way to honor this particular honest politician.
