Joseph J. Davenport | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 27th Mayor of Kansas City | |
| In office 1889 - 1890 | |
| Preceded by | Henry C. Kumpf |
| Succeeded by | Benjamin Holmes |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1849 St. Louis, Missouri, United States |
| Died | 1921 (aged 71–72) |
| Political party | Republican |
Joseph Jackson Davenport (1849 – 1921) was a lawyer, realtor and Mayor of Kansas City, Missouri in 1889. He moved to Kansas City from his native Saint Louis in about 1873, joining "the pork-packing business with J. E. McKenzie," and after his term as mayor entering real estate. Following his term a new city charter was implemented and terms were extended to two years.
Davenport had a legendary encounter with Kansas City Star publisher William Rockhill Nelson in which Davenport was alleged to have gone to the publisher's office (with or without a gun according to various tellings) to settle a squabble "man to man." Managing Editor T.W. Johnston, City Editor Ralph Stout, Editorial Writer William Allen White and a telegrapher named Phillips came to Nelson's aid, threw Davenport down a flight of stairs with Davenport saying "Drop the cuspidor, Ralph Stout! Put that spittoon down!" Nelson was reported to have said. "The Star never loses!" [1]
Davenport was born in St. Louis, Missouri and moved to Kansas City around 1873, where he engaged "the pork-packing business with J. E. McKenzie." [2]
References
- ^ Tom's Town: Kansas City and the Pendergast Legend By William M. Reddig - ISBN 0-8262-0498-8 - pp42 and 43 (available on print.google.com)
- ^ Local History – Kansas City Public Library Archived 2007-10-10 at the Wayback Machine