Randall Norton Christmas (October 14, 1920 – July 27, 1969) was an American politician and attorney who served as the 28th

mayor of Miami Below is a list of mayors of the City of Miami, Florida, United States. List of mayors See also *Government of the City of Miami * * Timeline of Miami * List of mayors of Miami-Dade County, Florida, 1964–present * Miami City Hall Ref ...

from 1955 to 1957.Pbase.com
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Early life and education

Christmas was born on October 14, 1920, in

Ocilla, Georgia The city of Ocilla is the county seat of Irwin County, Georgia, Irwin County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. Its population was 3,498 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Ocilla is part of the Fitzgerald, Georgia, Fitzg ...

, In 1926, the Christmas family relocated to

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

. The sixth of seven siblings, Christmas began working as a young boy delivering the ''

Miami Herald The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by McClatchy, The McClatchy Company and headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Founded in 1903, it is the fifth-largest newspaper in Florida, serving Miami-Dade, Broward County, Fl ...

''. He attended Edison High School, where he graduated in 1938. Christmas served with the

U.S. Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionary ...

VMB443 in a B-25 bomber in the Pacific Theater 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 ...

, where he met and became acquainted with George Smathers, later a

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

from Florida. As a student at the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

in 1948, he became a charter member of the Beta Delta chapter of

Phi Kappa Tau Phi Kappa Tau (), commonly known as Phi Tau (), is a collegiate fraternity located in the United States. The fraternity was founded in 1906. As of May 2024, the fraternity has 161 chartered chapters, 83 active chapters, 7 associate chapters, a ...

fraternity. In 1951, Randall graduated from the

University of Miami School of Law The University of Miami School of Law (Miami Law or UM Law) is the law school of the University of Miami, a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. Founded in 1926, it is the oldest law school in South Florida, graduating its first ...

Career

Christmas served in a time of tremendous change and phenomenal growth for Miami highlighted by the creation and transition to

Miami-Dade County Miami-Dade County () is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida. The county had a population of 2,701,767 as of the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Florida and the seventh-most-populous coun ...

, a municipal entity incorporating the City of Miami and several of the smaller municipalities in the wider

Miami metropolitan area The Miami metropolitan area is a coastal metropolitan area in southeastern Florida. It is the sixth-largest metropolitan statistical area (MSA) in the United States, the fifth-largest metropolitan area in the Southern United States, and the lar ...

. He served on the Miami City Commission from 1953 to 1955. Christmas was the first mayor to serve from what are still the current offices of the City of Miami municipal government. In 1956, he appeared in the beginning of the movie '' Miami Exposé''. He later served as an Assistant

State's Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

from 1960 to 1964, and then as an attorney private practice until his death. He is interred at Southern Memorial Cemetery in

North Miami Beach, Florida North Miami Beach (commonly referred to as NMB) is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The City of North Miami Beach is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. Originally named "Fulford-by-the-Sea" in 1926, after ...

. Merrie Christmas Park in the

Coconut Grove Coconut Grove, also known colloquially as "The Grove", is an affluent and the oldest continuously inhabited neighborhoods of Miami, neighborhood of Miami in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The neighborhood is roughly bounded by North Prospect Driv ...

section of Miami is named for Christmas' daughter, Merrie, who died at age 15 in 1969.

References

External links

* 1920 births 1969 deaths 20th-century mayors of places in Florida Mayors of Miami University of Miami School of Law alumni {{Miami-stub