George B. Ward

George B. Ward (born March 1, 1867 — died 1940) was the 13th Mayor of Birmingham, Alabama (United States) and the owner of the exotic "Vestavia" estate which gives Vestavia Hills, Alabama its name.

Ward was born in Atlanta, Georgia, but arrived in the new city of Birmingham shortly after its founding in 1871. His parents, George R. and Margaret Ward, operated the Relay House hotel along with his grandparents William and Jane Ketchum. Ward's mother hosted many social events at the hotel and was one of the founding members of the Episcopal Church of the Advent.

Ward attended the Powell School until he was sixteen and took a job as a runner for Charles Linn's National Bank of Birmingham. He narrowly missed a bullet fired into a mob rushing the Jefferson County Courthouse to lynch murderer Richard Hawes on December 8, 1888.

That same year, Ward enrolled in prep school at Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tennessee. When he returned to the bank he was promoted, eventually to the position of paying teller. In 1899 he campaigned successfully for a seat on the Birmingham Board of Aldermen, but resigned after a few months to manage a bank in Sheffield.

In 1900 Ward returned to the National Bank of Birmingham, leaving after a year's time to form a new investment company with John M. Caldwell. He ran again for the Board of Aldermen and was elected to a four-year term, representing Ward 2 of the city.

Ward ran against incumbent Mel Drennen in the 1903 Birmingham mayoral election. He campaigned for change and charged that Drennen was constructing a political machine using city employees and that the city was running deficits without performing needed services. He promised to make the city's finances sounder and more transparent. Drennen was re-elected in that race.

When Drennen retired, Ward once again ran for the office, this time against four opponents, of which the strongest was Drennen protégé Charles S. Simmons. Ward won the most votes in the primary, but avoided a run-off when Simmons withdrew from the race. He was inaugurated on May 4, 1905 for a two-year term.

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