Benjamin F. Stapleton
| Benjamin Franklin Stapleton | |
|---|---|
| 33rd Mayor of Denver | |
|
In office 1923–1931 |
|
| Preceded by | Dewey C. Bailey |
| Succeeded by | George D. Begole |
| 35th Mayor of Denver | |
|
In office 1935–1947 |
|
| Preceded by | George D. Begole |
| Succeeded by | J. Quigg Newton |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
November 12, 1869 Paintsville, Kentucky, United States |
| Died | May 23, 1950 (aged 80) Denver, Colorado, United States |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Mabel Freeland |
| Children | Lois Jane and Benjamin, Jr. |
Benjamin Franklin Stapleton (November 12, 1869 – May 23, 1950) was the Mayor of Denver, Colorado, USA, for two periods (comprising five terms), the first from 1923 to 1931 and the second from 1935 to 1947. He also served as the Democratic Colorado State Auditor from 1933 to 1935.
He was born November 12, 1869, in Paintsville, Kentucky, son of Samuel Stapleton (1847-1911) and Elizabeth Jane Newman (1851-1927). He attended National Normal University in Lebanon, Ohio, graduating with a law degree. Early in the 1890s, Stapleton went to live in Denver, and in 1899, he was admitted to the Colorado Bar.
Stapleton enlisted for service in the Spanish–American War. He served with the First Colorado Regiment, Company 1, Colorado Volunteers Infantry in the Philippine Islands, rising to the rank of first sergeant.
At the conclusion of his war-time service, Stapleton returned to Denver to practice law and first became actively interested in politics, helping found the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
On June 21, 1917, Stapleton married Mabel Freeland, with whom he had two children, Lois Jane and Benjamin, Junior.
Stapleton's political career began in 1904 as police magistrate, where he remained until 1915, when President Woodrow Wilson appointed him postmaster. During his appointment, he oversaw the completion of the Denver Post Office building.
As chronicled by Robert Alan Goldberg in his book Hooded Empire : The Ku Klux Klan in Colorado, Stapleton was the Klan candidate for mayor of Denver in 1923 and won the election with Klan support. When Stapleton declared his candidacy for mayor in March 1923, he was Klan member number 1,128 and a close friend of the Colorado Klan Grand Dragon, John Galen Locke. Rumors of Stapleton's Klan membership circulated during the mayoral campaign. Stapleton responded by denying that he was a Klan member and condemning the Klan "to appease his Jewish and Catholic supporters." The voters believed Stapleton's denial and he was elected, defeating an unpopular incumbent, Dewey Bailey. Stapleton then appointed fellow Klansmen to multiple positions in Denver government, though he initially resisted Klan pressure to appoint a Klansman as chief of police.
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