Harry C. Clark
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Harry Camp Clark (June 8, 1883 – December 27, 1950) was an American Republican politician from
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
.


Early life

Harry Clark was born on June 8, 1883 in
Bay City, Michigan Bay City is a city in Bay County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The population was 32,661 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The city is located just upriver from the Saginaw Bay on the Saginaw River. It is the princip ...
, to Herman and Melissa Clark. In 1907, he graduated from the
University of Vermont The University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, commonly referred to as the University of Vermont (UVM), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont, United States. Foun ...
with a degree in civil engineering. After graduation, he worked in
Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
and
Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...
, where he was in charge of building a sewer system.


Legal, political, and military career

In 1911, he moved to
San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
, to join his mother and two sisters. He took up road surveying and studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1918. Clark became an able and popular lawyer, and was president of the County Bar Association in 1927. Clark served as
mayor of San Diego The mayor of the City of San Diego is the official head and chief executive officer of the U.S. city of San Diego, California. The mayor has the duty to enforce and execute the laws enacted by the San Diego City Council, the legislative branch. ...
from 1927 to 1931. He was defeated in 1931, where the main issue was the $8.5 million spent for water projects, such as Lake Hodges Dam, with little to show for it. Clark served as Deputy City Attorney after his term as mayor. During
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, he was second lieutenant of the Quartermaster's Corps and served overseas for a year. He took part in the
Battle of Saint-Mihiel The Battle of Saint-Mihiel was a major World War I battle fought from 12 to 15 September 1918, involving the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) and 110,000 French troops under the command of General John J. Pershing of the United States again ...
and the
Meuse–Argonne offensive The Meuse–Argonne offensive (also known as the Meuse River–Argonne Forest offensive, the Battles of the Meuse–Argonne, and the Meuse–Argonne campaign) was a major part of the final Allies of World War I, Allied Offensive (military), offe ...
. He was promoted to captain before he was discharged.


Personal life

On June 6, 1911, Clark married Georgia L. Kessinger in San Diego. She was born May 14, 1876, in Ohio and died December 22, 1963, in San Diego. They had at least one son, Harry C., Jr. Clark died on December 27, 1950 of a heart attack at his home in San Diego.


Further reading

* Biography, pp. 169–170 * "Harry Camp Clark Succumbs in Home", San Diego ''Union'', December 28, 1950, p. A-6. Includes portrait {{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Harry C. 1883 births 1950 deaths Politicians from Bay City, Michigan Military personnel from California University of Vermont alumni Lawyers from San Diego Mayors of San Diego California Republicans 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century mayors of places in California