Richardson Dilworth (1898 – 1974), was an American Democratic Party politician, born in the Pittsburgh area, who served as the 116th Mayor of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from January 2, 1956 until his resignation on February 12, 1962 to run for Governor, a race in which he was defeated by William Scranton.
Along with Joseph S. Clark and others, he was at the forefront of a post-World War II reform movement in Philadelphia which led to the adoption...
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Richardson Dilworth (1898 – 1974), was an American Democratic Party politician, born in the Pittsburgh area, who served as the 116th Mayor of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from January 2, 1956 until his resignation on February 12, 1962 to run for Governor, a race in which he was defeated by William Scranton.
Along with Joseph S. Clark and others, he was at the forefront of a post-World War II reform movement in Philadelphia which led to the adoption of a modern city charter that consolidated city and county offices and introduced civil service examinations on a broad scale to replace much of the existing patronage structure.
He initially ran for Governor of Pennsylvania, losing to John Fine in 1950. In 1951, he was elected city district attorney; Clark was elected mayor. As Democrats, they ended a 67-year unbroken tenure of Republican control of the city (and instituted what has now become over 55 years of continuous Democratic control). During their tenures as mayor, Clark and Dilworth...
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