Biography

05/04/1873 - 03/25/1938

William Addison Magee, Jr. (R43) Allegheny (Part) County 1901-1904

Early Life:

William Addison Magee, Jr., born May 4, 1873, Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania son of Edward Simpson and Anna Elizabeth Sees Magee; Pittsburgh public school education; Pittsburgh High School; Franklin and Marshall College; admitted, Allegheny County bar, 1895; appointed, assistant district attorney for Allegheny County; resigned; elected, re-elected, common council, Twenty-third ward of Pittsburgh; elected, Republican, Pennsylvania State Senate, 1901-1904; elected, Republican, Mayor of Pittsburgh, 1909-1914; elected, Republican, Mayor of Pittsburgh, 1922-1926; died, March 25, 1938 (aged 64), Western Pennsylvania Hospital, Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania interment, Calvary Cemetery, Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania Politics:

Elected, Republican, Pennsylvania State Senate, 43rd district, Allegheny (Part) County, Special Election, April 16, 1901, vacancy, death of his uncle, Christopher Lyman Magee; 1901-1904; committee assignments, Banks and Building and Loan Associations, Centennial Affairs (Chairman), Elections, Municipal Affairs, Public Supply of Light, Heat and Water (Chairman).

Elected, Republican, 43rd Mayor of Pittsburgh, 1909-1914, benefited from change in state law that extended the mayors term to the current four years; responsible opening of Pittsburgh Pirates Forbes Field, also known for motorizing city of Pittsburgh police force.

Elected, Republican, 46th Mayor of Pittsburgh, 1922-1926; oversaw the removal of the Grant Street hump, and the construction of the Bloomfield, Manchester, Larimer Avenue, and Murray Avenue bridges. 

Legacy:

Brother, Charles J. Magee, Pennsylvania State Senate, 43rd district, Allegheny (Part) County, 1913-1917.  

Charles J. Magee  - Pennsylvania Senate Library (pasen.gov)

Uncle, Christopher Lyman Magee Pennsylvania State Senate, 43rd district, Allegheny (Part) County, 1897-1901.

Christopher Lyman Magee  - Pennsylvania Senate Library (pasen.gov)

Born, Pittsburgh's Hill District neighborhood, the site of where the Mellon Arena once stood, now PPG Arena.

Responsible opening of the first National League concrete baseball park, Forbes Field in the city's Oakland neighborhood. Pittsburgh Pirates won their first World Series, first season in the park, 1909.

Cited:

Cox, Harold. "Senate Members M". Wilkes University Election Statistics Project. Wilkes University.

Smull’s Legislative Handbook, (1904) Cochran, T.B., (Editor) Miller, H.P. (Assistant Editor) Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, pages 1020, 1025-1027, Biographical Sketches of Senators, page 994

The Honorable William A. Magee | pittsburghpa.gov

William Addison Magee (1873-1938) - Find a Grave Memorial