John Lindsay (24 November 1921-19 December 2000) was the Republican Mayor of New York City from 1 January 1966 to 31 December 1973, succeeding Robert F. Wagner Jr. and preceding Abraham D. Beame.
Biography[]
John Lindsay was born in New York City, New York on 24 November 1921. He served as a gunnery officer in the US Navy during World War II, fighting in the Pacific and Sicily. In 1949, he began a law career, and he became a US Republican Party member; he opposed legislation against communism and pornography and was an early supporter of Medicare and education funding as a Dwight D. Eisenhower supporter. In 1965, he won both the Republican and the liberal vote to become Mayor of New York City, defeating the Democratic Party candidate Abraham D. Beame and conservative candidate William F. Buckley, Jr.. During his time as mayor, several strikes broke out, starting wth the Transport Workers Union of America's strike on the day of his inauguration. Mayor Lindsay fought against the teachers of Ocean Hill and Brownsville, Brooklyn when Puerto Rican and African-American parents rallied against Jewish teachers, creating an atmosphere of anti-Semitism in Brooklyn. Lindsay did manage, however, to prevent African-Americans in Harlem from rioting following the 1968 assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., and he was reelected in 1969, despite losing the Republican primaries; he had the support of the Puerto Rican and African-American minorities and cosmopolitan whites. In 1970, the Hard Hat Riot began when 200 construction workers attacked 1,000 students as they protested the Kent State massacre and the Vietnam War, and Lindsay criticized the NYPD for its lack of action; he was derogatorily nicknamed "the Red Mayor" by his opponents. In 1971, he decided to defect to the Democratic Party, and he failed to win the party's nomination during the 1972 presidential election. In 1972, 60% of the city believed that he was doing a poor job as mayor, while only 9% rated his tenure "good"; not one person dared to say that he was "excellent". After leaving office in 1973, he became an occasional Good Morning America guest host and commentator, and he returned to a law career. He died of pneumonia and Parkinson's disease in 2000.