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John Anson Ford

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John Anson Ford
Ford c. 1940
Chairman of the California Fair Employment Practice Commission
In office
September 2, 1959 – January 11, 1964
Appointed byPat Brown
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byCarmen Warschaw
Chair of Los Angeles County
In office
December 4, 1956 – December 2, 1958
Preceded byBurton W. Chace
Succeeded byFrank G. Bonelli
In office
December 5, 1950 – December 7, 1954
Preceded byLeonard J. Roach
Succeeded byHerbert C. Legg
In office
December 8, 1942 – December 7, 1943
Preceded byGordon L. McDonough
Succeeded byOscar L. Hauge
Member of the
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
for the 3rd district
In office
1934–1958
Preceded byHarry M. Baine
Succeeded byErnest E. Debs
Personal details
Born(1883-09-29)September 29, 1883
Waukegan, Illinois, U.S.
DiedNovember 3, 1983(1983-11-03) (aged 100)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseLois Goldsmith
ChildrenJack
EducationBeloit College (B.A.)

John Anson Ford (September 29, 1883 – November 3, 1983)[1] was an American journalist, advertising executive and Democratic Party politician. He was a long-serving member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.

Career and politics

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Ford displays a miniature gold Sputnik given to him by the Russian Premier on his recent trip to that country, 1959

Ford was born in Waukegan, Illinois.[2] He attended Beloit College in Beloit, Wisconsin, taught history and economics, then moved to Chicago, where he worked on the Chicago Tribune. He was on the editorial board of Popular Mechanics. In 1920, he came to Los Angeles and entered the advertising and publicity business.[3]

Ford was elected to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors in 1934 as an "EPIC Democrat,"[4] representing the 3rd district until 1958. He was active in Democratic Party politics, serving on the state Central Committee, as chair of the Los Angeles County Democratic Party, as a delegate to Democratic National Conventions from California, candidate for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senator from California in 1940,[5] and as chairman of the Southern California Citizens for Kennedy Committee.[2] On his motion, in 1944, the Board of Supervisors established the Joint Committee for Interracial Progress that later became the Human Relations Commission.

After retiring, Ford "wrote regular newspaper columns and continued to give service to the community at large." The John Anson Ford Human Relations Award is named for him,[6] as are the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre in Los Angeles and John Anson Ford Park in Bell Gardens, California.[7]

John Anson Ford died at Midway Hospital in Los Angeles.[1][2] He is buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale.

Bibliography

[edit]
  • "Thirty Explosive Years in Los Angeles County", University of California Press, 2010[8]

References

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  1. ^ a b California Death Index Archived 2012-01-01 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved November 8, 2011
  2. ^ a b c New York Times obituary, published November 5, 1983, retrieved November 7, 2011.
  3. ^ Inventory of the John Anson Ford Papers, 1928-1971, at Online Archive of California.
  4. ^ Mitchell, Greg (1992). The Campaign of the Century. New York: Random House. p. 546.
  5. ^ The Political Graveyard, Ford page
  6. ^ "Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations". Archived from the original on January 5, 2012. Retrieved November 8, 2011.
  7. ^ Bell Gardens Recreation Services
  8. ^ "John Anson Ford autobiography". Archived from the original on November 13, 2011. Retrieved November 8, 2011.
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