Charles E. Beatley, Jr. (May 17, 1916 – December 29, 2003) was an American politician who was the mayor of

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in Northern Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Washington, D.C., D.C. The city's population of 159,467 at the 2020 ...

. A native of

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

, Beatley earned his undergraduate degree from

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

in 1938, and received his master's degree in 1947. As a civilian pilot, he flew for

Pan American-Grace Airways Pan American-Grace Airways, also known as Panagra, and dubbed "The World's Friendliest Airline" was an airline formed as a joint venture between Pan American World Airways and Grace Shipping Company. On September 13, 1928, a small single-engine F ...

between college degrees.Sullivan, Patricia and Vogel, Steve
"Alexandria Mayor Was City's Longest-Serving"
''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', 01 January 2004. Accessed 01 February 2018. He also ferried military planes to overseas bases as a civilian pilot during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Elected to the Alexandria City Council in 1966 as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

, Beatley became mayor the following year, and served until 1976, when he was defeated by former Virginia delegate Frank E. Mann, who ran as an Independent. After retiring from

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois that operates an extensive domestic and international route network across the United States and six ...

, Beatley ran again for mayor at the urging of local Republicans and Democrats, was elected in a landslide, and served until 1985. Beatley became known for preserving Alexandria's historic heritage while revitalizing its business district, as well as for promoting both local and regional public transportation as a board member of the

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA ), commonly referred to as Metro, is a tri-jurisdictional public transit agency that operates transit services in the Washington metropolitan area. WMATA provides rapid transit servic ...

. He lost reelection by 2,000 votes in 1985 to

Jim Moran James Patrick Moran Jr. (born May 16, 1945) is an American politician who served as the mayor of Alexandria, Virginia, from 1985 until 1990, and as the U.S. representative for , including the cities of Falls Church and Alexandria, all of Arl ...

, who would later serve as a member of congress representing the surrounding area. One of his aides,

Del Pepper Redella S. "Del" Pepper (born 1937 or 1938) is an American politician who served on the Alexandria, Virginia city council from 1985 until the beginning of 2022 and vice mayor (most votes among council members) 1996 to 1997 and 2003 to 2009. She an ...

, won election to the city council in 1985 and served for 36 years until 2021. The Charles E. Beatley, Jr. Central Library of the Alexandria library system and the nearby Charles Beatley Bridge (which crosses Holmes Run) in Alexandria are named in his honor.

References

1916 births 2003 deaths American people of World War II Virginia Democrats Mayors of Alexandria, Virginia Politicians from Columbus, Ohio Ohio State University alumni United Airlines people Virginia city council members 20th-century mayors of places in Virginia American commercial aviators {{Virginia-mayor-stub