James Rolph

James Rolph
27th Governor of California
In office January 6, 1931 – June 2, 1934
Lieutenant	Frank Merriam
Preceded by	C. C. Young
Succeeded by	Frank Merriam
30th Mayor of San Francisco
In office January 8, 1912 – January 6, 1931
Preceded by	P. H. McCarthy
Succeeded by	Angelo Rossi
Personal details
Born	James Rolph, Jr. August 23, 1869 San Francisco, California
Died	June 2, 1934 (aged 64) Santa Clara County, California
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Annie Marshall Reid
Profession	Politician
Religion	Episcopalian

James “Sunny Jim” Rolph, Jr. (August 23, 1869 – June 2, 1934) was an American politician and a member of the Republican Party. He was elected to a single term as the 27th governor of California from January 6, 1931 until his death on June 2, 1934 at the height of the Great Depression. Previously, Rolph had been the 30th mayor of San Francisco from January 8, 1912 until his resignation to become governor. Rolph remains the longest serving mayor in San Francisco history.

Biography

Annie M. Rolph at dock

Rolph was born in San Francisco. He had four brothers and two sisters.^[1] After attending school in the Mission District, he went to work as an office boy in a commission house. He married Annie Marshall Reid (1872-1956) and had at least one son: James Rolph, III (1904-1980).

Rolph entered the shipping business in 1900, by forming a partnership with George Hind. He would over the next decade, serve as president of two banks, one of which he helped establish. Although he was asked to run for mayor in 1909, he chose to wait until 1911 to run for mayor–a position that he would hold for nineteen years. As mayor, he was known as "Sunny Jim" and his theme song was "There Are Smiles That Make You Happy". In 1915 he appeared as himself in an early documentary film titled Mabel and Fatty Viewing the World's Fair at San Francisco, which was directed by and starred Fatty Arbuckle. In 1924, Rolph appeared as himself in a Slim Summerville comedy short film, Hello, Frisco.

Rolph knew of the power in San Francisco of the Roman Catholic Church. Italians, Irish, French and Germans made up the majority of the population of the City. He established a deep friendship with Archbishop Edward Joseph Hanna. In turn, Hanna would support Rolph in his 1930 election as governor of California.

In addition to his mayoral duties and overseeing his shipping interests, he directed the Ship Owners and Merchants Tugboat Company, and the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce. He also was vice-president of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition and president of the Merchants' Exchange. He resigned in 1931 to assume the office of governor of California.

Rolph received considerable criticism for publicly praising the citizens of San Jose following the November 1933 lynching of the confessed murderers of Brooke Hart, a local department store heir, while promising to pardon anyone involved, thereby earning the nickname, "Governor Lynch".^[2] Four days before the lynching he had announced he would not call on the National Guard to prevent the lynching, which was already being discussed locally.^[2]

After violence erupted during the San Joaquin cotton strike in October 1933, Governor Rolph appointed a fact-finding committee to investigate the deaths of several strikers. When the committee met in Visalia on October 19, 1933, Caroline Decker, a labor activist who had taken part in other California agricultural actions, took testimony from the strikers who testified about the growers' assaults on striking workers.

Death

After suffering several heart attacks, he died in Santa Clara County on June 2, 1934, aged 64, three years into his term. Rolph was the second Governor to die in office, the first being Washington Bartlett in 1887. He is buried at Greenlawn Memorial Park in Colma, California. He was succeeded by Lieutenant Governor Frank Merriam in the Governor's Office.

Legacy

One of the unofficial names of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge is the James “Sunny Jim” Rolph Bridge.^[3]

References

1. https://familysearch.org/tree#view=ancestor&person=KZS6-YX4
2. Kevin Starr (1996). Endangered Dreams: The Great Depression in California. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 98. ISBN 0195100808.
3. Business, Transportation and Housing Agency; Department of Transportation (January 2009). "2008 Named Freeways, Highways, Structures and Other Appurtenances in California" (PDF). State of California. Retrieved 24 October 2012.

External links

• Biography from the State of California
• James Rolph, Jr. at The Political Graveyard
• Biography from the Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco
• James Rolph at the Internet Movie Database