Henry Day Penfield (July 23, 1900 – October 29, 1984) was an American politician and the mayor of the city of Evanston, Illinois.
Biography
Penfield was born in Evanston, Illinois in 1900[1] the son of Louis Chapin Penfield.[2] He attended Evanston High School and finished his final year at the Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts.[1] In 1923, he graduated with a B.A. from Northwestern University.[1] At Northwestern, he was a star athlete earning letters in football and swimming; and was named to the all-Western and all-Conference football teams.[1] After school, he took a job at the Northwestern Mutual Insurance Company.[1] In 1931, he was elected as the treasure of Evanston, the youngest to have held the position.[1] In 1933, he ran for mayor alleging that the current administration tolerated the presence of speakeasies; he lost by 2,300 votes.[1] In 1935, he won re-election as treasurer and in 1937, he successfully won a 4-year term as the mayor of Evanston.[1] His tenure was difficult as the assessed value of property had declined while the population had increased by 10,000.[1] He ran for re-election as mayor in 1941 but was defeated by Samuel Gilbert Ingraham.[1] With the outbreak of World War II, he served as a lieutenant commander in the Navy in charge of recruitment in the Chicago area.[1] After the war, he worked for a recruitment firm, George Frye Associates[1] and then as the City Manager for Paradise Valley, Arizona[3] He retired in 1963.[1]
He died on October 29, 1984, in Scottsdale, Arizona.[1]
Personal life
He was married to Henrietta Calkins; they had two children: Nancy and Henry Jr.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Heise, Kenan (October 30, 1984). "Henry Day Penfield, 84, former Evanston mayor". The Chicago Tribune – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Cass, Judith (June 18, 1932). "Two Will become June Brides At North Shore Weddings Today". The Chicago Tribune – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Henry Day Penfield III". Arizona Republic. October 31, 1984 – via Newspapers.com.