Rhinelander Waldo

Rhinelander Waldo
Waldo circa 1915
7th New York City Fire Commissioner
In office January 13, 1910 – May 23, 1911
Appointed by	William Jay Gaynor
8th New York City Police Commissioner
In office May 23, 1911 – December 31, 1913
Appointed by	William Jay Gaynor
Personal details
Born	(1877-05-24)May 24, 1877 New York City, New York, U.S.
Died	August 13, 1927(1927-08-13) (aged 50) Garrison, New York, U.S.

Rhinelander Waldo (May 24, 1877 – August 13, 1927) was appointed the seventh New York City Fire Commissioner by Mayor William Jay Gaynor on January 13, 1910. He resigned on May 23, 1911, less than two months after the deadly Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire to accept an appointment as the eighth New York City Police Commissioner. On December 31, 1913, he was dismissed by the outgoing acting mayor, Ardolph Kline. Among other achievements in office, Waldo contributed to the motorization of both departments.

Rhinelander Waldo was born on May 24, 1877 in New York City to Francis Wilson Waldo, a stockbroker who died in 1878, and Gertrude Rhinelander Waldo. He joined the Seventeenth Infantry Regiment of the United States Army as a Second Lieutenant in 1899, after the United States had occupied the Philippine Islands in the Spanish–American War. In the course of nearly four years in the Philippines, he served under General Arthur MacArthur, Jr., was on the staff of General Leonard Wood during the Moro rebellion, and commanded a battalion of Philippine Scouts. He resigned from the Army in 1905 with the rank of Captain, and became New York's First Deputy Commissioner of Police in January 1906, at the age of 28. He married Virginia Otis Heckscher on April 20, 1910 in New York City.