James Quigg Newton Jr. (August 3, 1911 – April 4, 2003) was an American lawyer, academic administrator, and politician. He served as the mayor of

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

from 1947 to 1955. He was president of the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, the University of Colorado Denver, and the U ...

from 1956 to 1963.

Early life

Newton was born on August 3, 1911, in

Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

. His father was a successful businessman. He spent his childhood between Denver and New York City. Newton was educated at the public schools in Denver, followed by

Phillips Academy Phillips Academy (also known as PA, Phillips Academy Andover, or simply Andover) is a Private school, private, Mixed-sex education, co-educational college-preparatory school for Boarding school, boarding and Day school, day students located in ...

Andover, Massachusetts Andover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. It was Settler, settled in 1642 and incorporated in 1646."Andover" in ''Encyclopedia Britannica, The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th ed. ...

. He attended Yale University, graduating with an AB in 1933. This was followed by graduating from

Yale Law School Yale Law School (YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824. The 2020–21 acceptance rate was 4%, the lowest of any law school in the United ...

in 1936.

Career

Newton was a legal assistant to William O. Douglas, commissioner of the

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street crash of 1929. Its primary purpose is to enforce laws against market m ...

. In 1937, he began working Denver law firm of Lewis and Grant. He was a founding partner of Newton, Davis and Drinkwater in 1939. His partner, Richard Davis, was his Yale classmate and brother-in-law. The firm merged with Lewis & Grant in 1947 to form Lewis, Grant, Newton, Davis & Henry, which later became Lewis, Grant & Davis, and then Davis Graham & Stubbs. In 1937, Newton became a lecturer in law at the University of Denver. Newton served as a legal officer with the Navel Transport Command in the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

in the Second World War. After the war, he became the president of the board of trustees of the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private research university in Denver, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1864, it has an enrollment of approximately 5,700 undergraduate students and 7,200 graduate students. It is classified among "R1: D ...

. In 1947, aged 35, he ran for the office of mayor and defeated the incumbent, Benjamin F. Stapleton, who first became mayor in 1923. Newton was reelected in 1951, but declined to run for a third term in 1955. While he was mayor, Newton oversaw the construction of the

Denver Museum of Nature and Science The Denver Museum of Nature & Science is a municipal natural history and science museum in Denver, Colorado. It is a resource for informal science education in the Rocky Mountain region. A variety of exhibitions, programs, and activities help mus ...

, the

Denver Coliseum Denver Coliseum is an indoor arena, owned by the City and County of Denver, operated by its Denver Arts & Venues and located in Denver, Colorado. The arena has a capacity of 10,200 people and was built from 1949 to 1951. The coliseum is located i ...

, the

Denver Botanic Gardens The Denver Botanic Gardens is a public botanical garden located in the Cheesman Park neighborhood of Denver, Colorado. The park contains a conservatory, a variety of theme gardens and a sunken amphitheater, which hosts various concerts in the ...

, the

Valley Highway In the US state of Colorado, Interstate 25 (I-25) follows the north–south corridor through Colorado Springs and Denver. The highway enters the state from the north near Carr and exits the state near Starkville. The highway also ru ...

, and expansion of

Stapleton Airport Stapleton International Airport was a major airport in the western United States, and the primary airport of Denver, Colorado. It opened on October 17, 1929, and was replaced by the current Denver International Airport in 1995. It was a hub f ...

, and the downtown public library. He had an unsuccessful run to become the Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate in 1954. After leaving office as mayor, he became the president of the

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a $25,000 (about $550,000 in 2023) gift from Edsel Ford. ...

for eighteen months. He was president of the

from 1956 to 1963. He served on the

Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is the primary committee of the Republican Party of the United States. Its members are chosen by the state delegations at the national convention every four years. It is responsible for developing and pr ...

. He was president of the

Commonwealth Fund The Commonwealth Fund is a private American foundation whose stated purpose is to "promote a high-performing health care system that achieves better access, improved quality, and greater efficiency, particularly for society's most vulnerable, inc ...

in New York from 1963 to 1976. Newton became a fellow at the Center for Advanced Study of the Behavior Science Center in California for a year, followed by the Henry J. Kaiser Foundation for two years. He returned to practice law at Davis Graham & Stubbs in Denver from 1980 to his death in 2003.

Personal life

Newton married Virginia Shafroth in 1942. She was the granddaughter of John F. Shafroth who served as US Senator and

Governor of Colorado The governor of Colorado is the head of government of the U.S. state of Colorado. The governor (United States), governor is the head of the Executive (government), executive branch of Government of Colorado, Colorado's state government and is cha ...

. They had four daughters. Newton died from a heart attack in Denver, Colorado, on April 4, 2003.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Newton, J. Quigg Mayors of Denver Colorado Republicans 1911 births 2003 deaths 20th-century mayors of places in Colorado Military personnel from Colorado Leaders of the University of Colorado Boulder United States Navy personnel of World War II United States Navy officers 20th-century American academics