John Melancthon Frink (January 21, 1855 – August 31, 1914) was an early Washington state politician and businessperson.[1][2]
Born in Pennsylvania in 1855, Frink attended Washington College in Topeka, and began a teaching career in Kansas. Arriving in Seattle in 1874, he both taught and served as principal at Seattle's Belltown School. Capitalizing on the city's growth, Frink formed a successful foundry business, Washington Iron Works. He later established the Seattle Electric Company, was a director of the Seattle Savings Bank, and served as a Washington State senator. He lost in the 1900 general election in a bid to unseat John Rankin Rogers as Governor of Washington State, running as a Republican.[3]
In 1906 Frink became a member of the Seattle Board of Park Commissioners, and later its president. In 1906 he donated the property that became Frink Park to the City of Seattle.[4][5]
He died on August 31, 1914, and is buried in Lake View Cemetery, Seattle.[6]
References
- ^ Will A. Steel (1895), Steel & Searl's legislative souvenir manual for 1895-1896, pp. 66–67
- ^ Press Reference Library Notables of the West. Vol. II. International News Service. 1915. p. 42. Retrieved July 25, 2020 – via Google Books.
- ^ Washington governor race details, November 6, 1900, Our Campaigns, retrieved November 21, 2013
- ^ Kathryn True; Maria Dolan (2003), Nature in the City Seattle, The Mountaineers, p. 48, ISBN 9780898868791
- ^ Frink Park, Seattle Parks and Recreation
- ^ The Everett Daily Herald, Monday, August 31, 1914, page 2
External links