Frank Wilson Wozencraft (June 7, 1892 – September 3, 1966) was

mayor of Dallas The Mayor of the City of Dallas is a member of the Dallas City Council and its presiding officer. The current mayor is Eric Johnson (Texas politician), Eric Johnson, who has served one term since 2019 Dallas mayoral election, 2019 and is the 60 ...

from 1917 to 1921.

Biography

Frank Wilson Wozencraft was born on June 7, 1892, in Dallas, Texas, to Gen. Alfred Prior Wozencraft and Virginia Lee Wilson. His father had been attorney general of Texas. He married Mary Victoria McReynolds, daughter of Dr. John Oliver McReynolds and Katherine Seay on June 21, 1922, in Dallas, Texas. They had two sons. He attended St. Matthew's School for Boys in Dallas, graduated from Dallas High School (1909), and received his B.A. (1913) and LL.B. (1914) degrees from the University of Texas where he became a member of the

Delta Chi Delta Chi () is an international collegiate social fraternity. It was formed in 1890 at Cornell University as a professional fraternity for law students, becoming a social fraternity in 1922. In 1929. Delta Chi became one of the first internat ...

fraternity. His first position was in his father's law office. He worked as an attorney for Southwestern Telephone and Telegraph. At the outbreak of World War I, he organized the Dallas Greys. He transferred to Company B, 144th Infantry, 36th Division. At age 26, Frank Wozencraft was the youngest individual elected

Mayor of Dallas The Mayor of the City of Dallas is a member of the Dallas City Council and its presiding officer. The current mayor is Eric Johnson (Texas politician), Eric Johnson, who has served one term since 2019 Dallas mayoral election, 2019 and is the 60 ...

, defeating the incumbent mayor who was running for re-election. After refusing re-nomination as mayor, he practiced law with the firm of Leake, Henry, Wozencraft & Frank in Dallas. In 1931 he joined

Radio Corporation of America RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...

in New York City as the corporation's legal counsel. He resigned to serve in World War II first as Lt. Colonel and later

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

with American-British Combined Communications Board of the Combined Chiefs of Staff. After the war, he returned to Dallas where he was a partner with former

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commissioner

Norman S. Case Norman Stanley Case (October 11, 1888October 9, 1967) was an American politician who served as the Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island from 1927 to 1928 and the 56th Governor of Rhode Island from 1928 to 1933. He also served in the Army during Wor ...

in the

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, law firm of Case & Wozencraft and later with Leake, Henry, Golden, Burrow and Potts. He was a 32nd degree

Freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

, Knight Templar,

Shriner Shriners International, formally known as the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine (AAONMS), is an American Masonic society. Founded in 1872 in New York City, it is headquartered in Tampa, Florida, and has over 200 chapters ...

and a

Rotarian Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. The self-declared mission of Rotary, as stated on its website, is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and pe ...

. He was active with the

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and a member of the local, state and American bar associations. Frank Wozencraft died September 3, 1966, in Dallas, Texas, and was interred at the Greenwood Cemetery, Dallas."Dallas' Boy Mayor of 20s Dies at 74." ''The Dallas Morning News''. September 4, 1966, p. 18A.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wozencraft, Frank W. 1892 births 1966 deaths Mayors of Dallas University of Texas School of Law alumni United States Army personnel of World War I United States Army personnel of World War II Texas lawyers Texas Democrats 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century mayors of places in Texas United States Army colonels Military personnel from Texas