George W. Guthrie
| George W. Guthrie | |
|---|---|
Portrait of George W. Guthrie,
c. 1906–1909 |
|
| United States Ambassador to Japan | |
|
In office August 7, 1913 – March 8, 1917 |
|
| President | Woodrow Wilson |
| Preceded by | Larz Anderson |
| Succeeded by | Roland Morris |
| 42nd Mayor of Pittsburgh | |
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In office 1906–1909 |
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| Preceded by | William B. Hays |
| Succeeded by | William A. Magee |
| Personal details | |
| Born | September 8, 1848 |
| Died | March 8, 1917 (aged 68) |
| Political party | Democratic |
George Wilkins Guthrie (September 5, 1848 – March 8, 1917), served as Mayor of Pittsburgh from 1906 to 1909 and then was United States Ambassador to Japan from 1913 to 1917.
George Wilkins Guthrie was born in Pittsburgh on September 5, 1848 to John B. Guthrie and Catherine Murray Guthrie. Guthrie attended public school in Pittsburgh, then the Western University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated in 1866. Next, he studied law at the Columbian College for three years, at which point he was admitted to the bar (in Washington, DC and in Allegheny County on November 5, 1869). He became an attorney and started an involvement in reform issues during an era of increasing government corruption and largess. On December 2, 1886, he married Florence Julia Howe Guthrie, daughter of General Thomas Marshall Howe of Pittsburgh.
Guthrie, a Democrat, ran for mayor of Pittsburgh in 1896 and was defeated narrowly by Henry P. Ford. Guthrie was elected mayor in 1906 and immediately started instituting city policies to stem local corruption, and while working locally he also pushed for statewide reforms. Guthrie is best remembered for two accomplishments. First, for the success of the legislation he and D.T. Watson, the famous corporate lawyer, created which led to the merger between Pittsburgh and Allegheny City in 1906. This consolidation, legally controversial and unpopular among Allegheny residents withstood challenges in the Pennsylvania and United States Supreme Courts, and made the new Greater Pittsburgh the sixth largest city in the United States. Second, the implementation of a water filtration system during Guthrie's term significantly reduced the incidence of typhoid in Pittsburgh. The first filtered water, cleaned in a slow sand filter, was delivered on December 18, 1907, and by October 3, 1908, the entire water supply of Pittsburgh was being filtered. Guthrie's term was noted for a significant decline in the city's death rate due to improvement in public health. The rate had been among the highest in America's northern cities, around 20 per 1,000 inhabitants, a level at which it had been stuck for 20 years. By the end of his term, the rate had fallen to 16 per 1,000, the lowest in Pittsburgh's history to that point. Notable declines were seen in incidences of typhoid fever.
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