David L. Lawrence

This article is about the governor of Pennsylvania, and long-time Pittsburgh mayor. For other people named David Lawrence see David Lawrence (disambiguation).

David L. Lawrence
37th Governor of Pennsylvania
In office January 20, 1959 – January 15, 1963
Lieutenant	John Morgan Davis
Preceded by	George Leader
Succeeded by	Bill Scranton
50th Mayor of Pittsburgh
In office January 7, 1946[1] – January 2, 1959
Preceded by	Cornelius Scully
Succeeded by	Thomas Gallagher
Personal details
Born	June 18, 1889(1889-06-18) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Died	November 21, 1966(1966-11-21) (aged 77) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Alyce Lawrence
Profession	Party delegate, Civil servant, Politician
Religion	Roman Catholic

David Leo Lawrence (June 18, 1889—November 21, 1966) was an American politician who served as the 37th Governor of Pennsylvania from 1959 to 1963. He is to date the only mayor of Pittsburgh to be elected Governor of Pennsylvania. Previously, he had been the mayor of Pittsburgh from 1946 through 1959. He was Pennsylvania's first Catholic Governor.

Early life

Lawrence was born into a working-class Irish-Catholic family in the Golden Triangle neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Too poor to attend college, Lawrence instead took a job as a clerk for Pittsburgh attorney William Brennan, the chairman of the local Democratic party and a labor movement pioneer. Brennan became a personal friend and mentor to the teenage Lawrence.

Lawrence entered the insurance business in 1916. In 1918 he enlisted in the United States Army to aid America’s efforts in World War I serving as an officer in the adjutant general’s office in Washington, D.C.

Pittsburgh politics

When he returned home from his army service in 1919, Lawrence was elected chairman of the Allegheny County Democratic Party. At the time, Pittsburgh was a Republican bastion, with Democrats holding wide support only in the lower class and among recent immigrants. With the help of future Pennsylvania Senator Guffey, Lawrence led the rising Pennsylvania Democratic party that would soon dominate local and state-wide politics.

In 1931, Lawrence ran for Allegheny County Commissioner but lost. It was one of his last losses, as the effects of the Great Depression and a series of scandals rapidly eroded support for the Republican party in Pittsburgh. Two years later, he was appointed U.S. Collector of Internal Revenue for Western Pennsylvania by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. In 1934, he helped elect George H. Earle as the first Democratic governor of Pennsylvania in the 20th century. Earle then appointed him as the Secretary of the Commonwealth. That same year, he became state chairman of the Democratic Party.

In 1945, Lawrence was elected mayor of Pittsburgh by a narrow margin. At the time, Pittsburgh was considered one of the most polluted cities in America with smog so thick that it was not unusual for streetlights to burn during the daytime. Lawrence developed a seven-point program for Pittsburgh during his first days in office, making him one of the first civic leaders to implement a dedicated urban renewal plan. Republicans still controlled much of city politics and business at the time, so Lawrence had to forge bipartisan alliances to accomplish his objectives. His most famous partnership was with Richard K. Mellon, chairman of one of the largest banks in America and a staunch Republican. Despite their political differences, Mellon and Lawrence were both interested in the revival of Pittsburgh and both were early environmentalists. This partnership drove what came to be called the “Renaissance” (later Renaissance I) of Pittsburgh.

See also: List of Mayors of Pittsburgh

Pennsylvania politics

After an unprecedented four terms as mayor of Pittsburgh, Democrats drafted him to run for governor in 1958. He was initially reluctant. He cited his age (nearing 70) as a potential drawback. He eventually accepted his party’s nomination and narrowly defeated Reading businessman Arthur T. McGonigle to become Pennsylvania's 37th governor.

During his four-year term as governor, Lawrence passed anti-discrimination legislation, environmental protection laws, expanded Pennsylvania's library system, passed Pennsylvania's fair housing law, and advocated historic preservation. He also passed vigorous highway safety legislation, a move some attribute to the fact that two of his sons were killed in an automobile accident. His expansion of state bureaucracies came at the price of budget deficits and tax increases, a move that angered many fiscal conservatives.

In 1960, Lawrence was among a group of political leaders who created the Finnegan Foundation. The organization continues to name 3-6 Finnegan Fellows each year.^{[citation needed]}

National politics

Lawrence had attended his first Democratic National Convention as a page in 1912 and would attend every subsequent convention until his death. He was instrumental in the nominations of Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1932 and John F. Kennedy in 1960, and became known as the “maker of presidents”. In the weeks leading up to the 1948 Democratic National Convention, Lawrence was one of the few urban bosses to support Harry S Truman's attempts to win the Presidential nomination.

Once the Convention began, however, Lawrence would surprise liberals and conservatives alike by shifting the Pennsylvania delegation away from the more tepid civil rights plank that the Administration preferred to a more aggressively liberal one.^{[citation needed]} Lawrence is sometimes credited with convincing Kennedy to choose Lyndon Johnson as his running mate to balance the ticket and mend a rift between northern and southern Democrats.^{[citation needed]}

Later life

Limited to one term under existing state law, Lawrence retired from elected office in 1963, but continued to stay active in Democratic politics and served the Kennedy and Johnson administrations as Chairman of the President's Committee on Equal Opportunities in Housing.[1]

Death

Lawrence fell ill and collapsed at a Pittsburgh campaign rally for gubernatorial candidate Milton Shapp on November 4, 1966 and was rushed to a local hospital. He died 17 days later having never regained consciousness. He was 77 years old.

He is buried in Pittsburgh's Calvary Cemetery.

Honors

Buildings named in honor of Lawrence include The David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, the David Lawrence Hall of the University of Pittsburgh, Lawrence Hall in the Governor's Quad at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and Lawrence Hall of Point Park University. Lawrence is also honored at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, as it named two dormitories the Lawrence Towers. The David L. Lawrence Library, later the David L. Lawrence Administration Center, at La Salle University was dedicated by Vice President Hubert H. Humphery.

Electoral history

• 1945 Race for Pittsburgh Mayor
  • David Lawrence (D), 52%
  • Rob Waddell (R), 47%
• 1949 Race for Pittsburgh Mayor
  • David Lawrence (D), 60%
  • Tim Ryan (R), 39%
• 1953 Race for Pittsburgh Mayor
  • David Lawrence (D), 62%
  • Leo Kane (R), 37%
• 1957 Race for Pittsburgh Mayor
  • David Lawrence (D), 64%
  • John Drew (R), 35%
• 1959 Race for Pennsylvania Governor
  • David Lawrence (D), 53%
  • Tom McGonigle (R), 46%

Notes

1. ^ The Pittsburgh Press

References

• Weber, Michael P. (1988). Don't Call Me Boss: David L. Lawrence: Pittsburgh's Renaissance Mayor. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press. ISBN 0-8229-3565-1. 

External links

Biography portal

• Finding aid to the David Leo Lawrence Papers at the Archives Service Center, University of Pittsburgh
• President Johnson's statement on the passing of David Lawrence

Political offices
Preceded by Cornelius Scully	Mayor of Pittsburgh 1946–1959	Succeeded by Thomas Gallagher
Preceded by George Leader	Governor of Pennsylvania 1959–1963	Succeeded by Bill Scranton
Party political offices
Preceded by George Leader	Democratic nominee for Governor of Pennsylvania 1958 (won)	Succeeded by Richardson Dilworth

Persondata
Name	Lawrence, David L.
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	June 18, 1889
Place of birth	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Date of death	November 21, 1966
Place of death	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States