John Anson Ford (September 29, 1883 – November 3, 1983)California Death Index
, retrieved November 8, 2011 was an American journalist, advertising executive and Democratic Party politician. He was a long-serving member of the

Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors (LACBOS) is the five-member Board of Supervisors, governing body of Los Angeles County, California, United States. History On April 1, 1850 the citizens of Los Angeles elected a three-man Court of Se ...

Career and politics

Ford was born in

Waukegan, Illinois Waukegan ( ) is a city in Lake County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. Located north of Chicago, Waukegan is a satellite city within the greater Chicago metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, its population was 89,321, makin ...

.''New York Times'' obituary, published November 5, 1983
retrieved November 7, 2011. He attended

Beloit College Beloit College is a private liberal arts college in Beloit, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1846 when Wisconsin was still a territory, it is the state's oldest continuously operated college. It has an enrollment of roughly 1,000 undergradua ...

Beloit, Wisconsin Beloit ( ) is a city in Rock County, Wisconsin, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 36,657 people. Beloit is a principal city of the Janesville, Wisconsin, Janesville–Beloit metropolitan statistical area (Rock Co ...

, taught history and economics, then moved to

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, where he worked on the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

''. He was on the editorial board of ''

Popular Mechanics ''Popular Mechanics'' (often abbreviated as ''PM'' or ''PopMech'') is a magazine of popular science and technology, featuring automotive, home, outdoor, electronics, science, do it yourself, and technology topics. Military topics, aviation an ...

''. In 1920, he came to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and entered the advertising and publicity business.Inventory of the John Anson Ford Papers, 1928-1971
at Online Archive of California. Ford was elected to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors in 1934 as an "

EPIC Epic commonly refers to: * Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation * Epic film, a genre of film defined by the spectacular presentation of human drama on a grandiose scale Epic(s) ...

Democrat," 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 Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 18 ...

s from California, candidate for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senator from California in 1940,The Political Graveyard
Ford page and as chairman of the Southern California Citizens for

Kennedy Kennedy may refer to: People * Kennedy (surname), including any of several people with that surname ** Kennedy family, a prominent American political family that includes: *** Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. (1888–1969), American businessman, investor, ...

Committee. 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, as are the

John Anson Ford Amphitheatre The John Anson Ford Amphitheatre, officially nicknamed The Ford, is a music venue in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles, California. The 1,200-seat outdoor amphitheatre is situated within the Cahuenga Pass within the Santa Monica Mountains, direct ...

and John Anson Ford Park in

Bell Gardens, California Bell Gardens is a city in the U.S. state of California in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. Located in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, the city's population was 39,501 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Bell Ga ...

.Bell Gardens Recreation Services
/ref> John Anson Ford died at Midway Hospital in Los Angeles. He is buried in

Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale Forest Lawn Memorial Park is a privately owned cemetery in Glendale, California, United States. It is the original and current flagship location of Forest Lawn Memorial-Parks & Mortuaries, a chain of six cemeteries and four additional mortuaries ...

Bibliography

*"Thirty Explosive Years in Los Angeles County", University of California Press, 2010

References

External links

*
Transcript of an eight-hour interview – Ford discusses his life and career in Los Angeles
at The UCLA Oral History Program. 1883 births 1983 deaths Politicians from Los Angeles County, California People from Waukegan, Illinois Beloit College alumni Writers from Los Angeles County, California Writers from Illinois Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors California Democrats Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale) American men centenarians 20th-century California politicians {{California-politician-stub