James "Sunny Jim" Rolph Jr. (August 23, 1869 – June 2, 1934) was an American politician. A member of the Republican Party, he was elected to a single term as the 27th

governor of California The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The Governor (United States), governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard. Established in the Constit ...

from January 6, 1931, until his death on June 2, 1934, at the height of the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

. Previously, Rolph had been the 30th

mayor of San Francisco The mayor of the City and County of San Francisco is the head of the executive branch of the Government of San Francisco, San Francisco city and county government. The officeholder has the duty to enforce city laws, and the power to either appro ...

from January 8, 1912, until his

resignation Resignation is the formal act of relinquishing or vacating one's office or position. A resignation can occur when a person holding a position gained by election or appointment steps down, but leaving a position upon the expiration of a term, or ...

to become governor. Rolph remains the longest-serving mayor in San Francisco history.

Life and career

Rolph was born in San Francisco, the son of Margaret (née Nicol) and James Rolph. He had four brothers, including

Thomas Rolph Thomas Rolph (January 17, 1885 – May 10, 1956) was a United States representative from California. He was born in San Francisco, California. His older brother, James Rolph Jr., was elected Mayor of San Francisco in 1911 and served until he ...

, and two sisters. After attending school in the

Mission District The Mission District ( Spanish: ''Distrito de la Misión''), commonly known as the Mission ( Spanish: ''La Misión''), is a neighborhood in San Francisco, California. One of the oldest neighborhoods in San Francisco, the Mission District's name ...

, he went to work as an office boy in a commission house. He married Annie Marshall Reid (1872–1956) and had at least one son: James Rolph III (1904–1980). Rolph entered the shipping business in 1900, by forming a partnership with George Hind. Over the next decade, he served as president of two banks, one of which he helped establish. Although he was asked to run for mayor in 1909, he chose to wait until

1911 Events January * January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory are added to the Commonwealth of Australia. * January 3 ** 1911 Kebin earthquake: An earthquake of 7.7 m ...

to run for mayor—a position that he would hold for nineteen years. As mayor, he was known as "Sunny Jim", and his theme song was "There Are Smiles That Make You Happy". In 1915 he appeared as himself in an early documentary film titled ''

Mabel and Fatty Viewing the World's Fair at San Francisco ''Mabel and Fatty Viewing the World's Fair at San Francisco'' is a 1915 American short film, short comedy film, comedy-documentary film both starring and directed by Roscoe Arbuckle and Mabel Normand. Cast * Roscoe Arbuckle, Roscoe 'Fatty' Arb ...

'', which starred

Fatty Arbuckle Roscoe Conkling "Fatty" Arbuckle (; March 24, 1887 – June 29, 1933) was an American silent film actor, director, and screenwriter. He started at the Selig Polyscope Company and eventually moved to Keystone Studios, where he worked with Mabel ...

and

Mabel Normand Amabel Ethelreid Normand (November 9, 1893 – February 23, 1930), better known as Mabel Normand, was an American silent film actress, comedienne, director and screenwriter. She was a popular star and collaborator of Mack Sennett in their K ...

and was directed by Arbuckle. In 1924, Rolph appeared as himself in a

Slim Summerville Slim Summerville (born George Joseph Somerville; July 10, 1892 – January 5, 1946) was an American film actor and director best known for his work in comedies. Early life Summerville was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where his mother died w ...

comedy short film, ''Hello, 'Frisco''. Rolph knew of the power in San Francisco of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. Italians, Irish, French and Germans made up the majority of the population of the city. He established a deep friendship with Archbishop

Edward Joseph Hanna Edward Joseph Hanna (July 21, 1860 – July 10, 1944) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as archbishop of San Francisco from 1915 to 1935. Early life and education Edward Hanna was born in Rochester, New York, ...

. In addition to his mayoral duties and overseeing his shipping interests, he directed the Ship Owners and Merchants Tugboat Company and the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce. He also was vice-president of the

Panama–Pacific International Exposition The Panama–Pacific International Exposition was a world's fair held in San Francisco, California, United States, from February 20 to December 4, 1915. Its stated purpose was to celebrate the completion of the Panama Canal, but it was widely s ...

and president of the Merchants' Exchange. He resigned in 1931 to assume the office of governor of California. Rolph received considerable criticism for publicly praising the citizens of San Jose following the November 1933

lynching Lynching is an extrajudicial killing by a group. It is most often used to characterize informal public executions by a mob in order to punish an alleged or convicted transgressor or to intimidate others. It can also be an extreme form of i ...

of the confessed kidnapper-murderers of

Brooke Hart Brooke Leopold Hart (June 11, 1911 – November 9, 1933) was the eldest son of Alexander Hart, the owner of the L. Hart & Son department store in downtown San Jose, California, United States. His kidnapping and murder were heavily publicized, an ...

, a local department store heir, while promising to

pardon A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the j ...

anyone involved, thereby earning the nickname "Governor Lynch." Four days before the lynching he had announced he would not call on the

National Guard National guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. ...

to prevent the lynching, which was already being discussed locally. After violence erupted during the San Joaquin cotton strike in October 1933, Governor Rolph appointed a fact-finding committee to investigate the deaths of several strikers. When the committee met in Visalia on October 19, 1933,

Caroline Decker Caroline Decker Gladstein (born Caroline Dwofsky, April 26, 1912 – May 17, 1992) was a labor activist in the 1930s in California. A member of the Communist Party, as many activists were, she was an organizer for the Cannery and Agricultural W ...

, a labor activist who had taken part in other California agricultural actions, took testimony from the strikers who testified about the growers' assaults on striking workers.

Death

After suffering several heart attacks, Rolph died in

Santa Clara County Santa Clara County, officially the County of Santa Clara, is the sixth-most populous county in the U.S. state of California, with a population of 1,936,259 as of the 2020 census. Santa Clara County and neighboring San Benito County form the ...

on June 2, 1934, aged 64, three years into his term. He was the second California governor to die in office, the first being Washington Bartlett in 1887. Rolph is buried at Greenlawn Memorial Park in

Colma, California Colma (Ohlone for "Springs") is a small incorporated List of municipalities in California, town in San Mateo County, California, United States, on the San Francisco Peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 1,507 at the 2020 U ...

. He was succeeded as governor by Lieutenant Governor

Frank Merriam Frank Finley Merriam (December 22, 1865 – April 25, 1955) was an American Republican politician who served as the 28th governor of California from June 2, 1934, until January 2, 1939. Assuming the governorship at the height of the Great Depress ...

Legacy

On September 7, 1934, the California Toll Bridge Authority passed a resolution "that...the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge be dedicated as a lasting memorial to the memory of James Rolph Jr." A 1993 survey of historians, political scientists and urban experts conducted by Melvin G. Holli of the

University of Illinois at Chicago The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) is a public research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its campus is in the Near West Side community area, adjacent to the Chicago Loop. The second campus established under the Universi ...

ranked Rolph as the twenty-third-best American big-city mayor to have served between the years 1820 and 1993.

References

External links

The Political Graveyard The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 Politics of the United States, American political figures and List of United States political families, political families, along with other informa ...

Biography from the Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco
* , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Rolph, James 1869 births 1934 deaths 20th-century mayors of places in California American Episcopalians Republican Party governors of California Mayors of San Francisco Politicians from San Francisco American bank presidents American businesspeople in shipping American pro-lynching activists

Life and career

Death

Legacy

See also

References

Further reading

External links