John J. Cavanagh (January 16, 1864 – January 24, 1957) was an American gentleman's

hatter Hat-making or millinery is the design, manufacture and sale of hats and other headwear. A person engaged in this trade is called a milliner or hatter. Historically, milliners made and sold a range of accessories for clothing and hairstyles. ...

based in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. He was a Democratic mayor of South Norwalk and of Norwalk,

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

. He was a leader in both styling and manufacturing of hats for fifty years.

Political career

In 1902, Cavanagh was elected mayor of South Norwalk and in 1908, he was elected mayor of Norwalk. He is the only person to have served as mayors of both cities prior to their consolidation in 1913. He was very active in Democratic Party politics, and in 1925 was considered for the candidacy for

governor of Connecticut The governor of Connecticut is the head of government of Connecticut, and the commander-in-chief of the U.S. state, state's Connecticut Military Department, military forces. The Governor (United States), governor has a duty to enforce state laws, ...

. However, he was unwilling, due to his business responsibilities. He was a founder of the Norwalk Hospital, and was a member of its board of trustees for 20 years. He was a founder of the Shorehaven Golf Club, a member of the Merritt Parkway Commission, the Norwalk Housing Authority, the Norwalk Kiwanis Club, and the State Prison Board.

Hat manufacturing business

Cavanagh went to work for William A. Brown hatters of Norwalk at the age of 17. He worked as a sizer, trimmer, finisher, expert cutter, curler, and plant superintendent. In 1880 he began working for ''Crofut & Knapp'', where he was mentored by James H. Knapp. By 1907, Cavanagh was vice-president of Crofut & Knapp, and from 1923 to 1937, he was president of the company. In 1928 Cavanagh created the company of Cavanagh-Dobbs Inc., which included his own hat label, ''Cavanagh Hats'', and a retail outlet in New York City, ''John Cavanagh Ltd.'' In 1932, he founded the ''Hat Corporation of America'', merging his brands with ''Knox & Dunlap''. In 1934 the ''Cavanagh Hat Research Corporation'' was founded to research materials and manufacturing methods to benefit the industry. He gave his name to a method of finishing hat brims known as the Cavanagh Edge. Cavanagh's other innovations included introducing regular, long and wide-oval fitting hats to enable customers to find better-fitting ready-to-wear hats. In 1939 John Cavanagh was awarded a

Neiman Marcus Fashion Award The Neiman Marcus Award for Distinguished Service in the Field of Fashion was a yearly award created in 1938 by Carrie Marcus Neiman and Stanley Marcus. Unlike the Coty Award, it was not limited to American-based fashion designers. Recipients of th ...

in recognition of his services to the American hat industry. He retired in 1947, though retained an honorary vice-presidency, and died in 1957. His son, J. Garvan Cavanagh, inherited vice presidency of the company, but left in 1961 to become a

Roman Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in common English usage ''priest'' re ...

.Late Vocation
TIME Magazine, March 24, 1961. Accessed 30 March 2009

Cavanagh Hats

Al Webb (b. February 15, 1920), who joined the company after the

Second World War 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 ...

, was by 1961 Vice President of Sales for the ''Hat Corporation of America''. Like J. Garvan Cavanagh, he was a close friend of

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

, whose dislike of wearing hats had led to a downturn in hat sales.Kennedy Presidential Library Opens the John Salstonstall and Al Webb Collections
on the JFK Presidential Library website. Accessed 21 May 2012 At a 1961 PT reunion in

Washington, DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

, Webb accused his friend of having ruined the American hat industry. In response, Kennedy began carrying a hat with the Cavanagh Hats label clearly visible. The first incidence of this was when Kennedy met with

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

on April 22, 1961, at

Camp David Camp David is a country retreat for the president of the United States. It lies in the wooded hills of Catoctin Mountain Park, in Frederick County, Maryland, near the towns of Thurmont, Maryland, Thurmont and Emmitsburg, Maryland, Emmitsburg, a ...

Awards

* Citizen's Award, Jewish War Veterans, 1945 * Cross of the Order of the Knights of Malta

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cavanagh, John 1864 births 1957 deaths Connecticut Democrats Clothing companies based in New York City Mayors of Norwalk, Connecticut Politicians from New York City Knights of Malta