The Political Graveyard: Steel and Metal Industry Politicians in the District of Columbia

PoliticalGraveyard.com

Steel and Metal Industry Politicians in the District of Columbia

David Bing (b. 1943) — also known as Dave Bing — of Detroit, Wayne County, Mich. Born in Washington, D.C., November 24, 1943. Played professional basketball for the Detroit Pistons and other teams, 1966-75; named to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1990; founder, president, and chairman of Bing Steel (later, The Bing Group), supplier to automobile manufacturers; mayor of Detroit, Mich., 2009-13. Baptist. African ancestry. Still living as of 2020.

James Augustus Black (1793-1848) — of South Carolina. Born near Abbeville, Ninety Six District (now Abbeville County), S.C., 1793. Served in the U.S. Army during the War of 1812; iron manufacturer; member of South Carolina state house of representatives, 1826-28, 1832-35; U.S. Representative from South Carolina 1st District, 1843-48; died in office 1848. Slaveowner. Died in Washington, D.C., April 3, 1848 (age about 54 years). Interment at First Presbyterian Churchyard, Columbia, S.C.; cenotaph at Congressional Cemetery, Washington, D.C.

Henry Taylor Blow (1817-1875) — also known as Henry T. Blow — of St. Louis, Mo. Born in Southampton County, Va., July 15, 1817. Republican. Lead products business; president, Iron Mountain Railroad; member of Missouri state senate, 1854-58; U.S. Representative from Missouri 2nd District, 1863-67; U.S. Minister to Brazil, 1869-70; member District of Columbia board of commissioners, 1874. Slaveowner. Died in Saratoga, Saratoga County, N.Y., September 11, 1875 (age 58 years, 58 days). Interment at Bellefontaine Cemetery, St. Louis, Mo.

		Relatives: Son of Peter Blow and Elizabeth (Taylor) Blow; married to Minerva Grimsley; third cousin of George Blow Jr..
		Political family: Blow family of Virginia.
		See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page — U.S. State Dept career summary

Howard Aldridge Coffin (1877-1956) — also known as Howard A. Coffin — of Detroit, Wayne County, Mich. Born in Middleboro, Plymouth County, Mass., June 11, 1877. Republican. Sales representative, Ginn & Company book publishers, 1901-11; controller, Warren Motor Car Company, 1911-13; regional manager, Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, 1913-18; secretary, Detroit Pressed Steel Company, 1918-21; assistant to president, Cadillac Motor Car Company, 1921-25; vice-president, later president, White Star Oil Refining Company, 1925-33; division manager, Socony-Vacuum Oil Company, 1933; U.S. Representative from Michigan 13th District, 1947-49; defeated, 1944, 1948. Baptist. Member, Rotary. Died in Washington, D.C., February 28, 1956 (age 78 years, 262 days). Interment at Woodlawn Cemetery, Detroit, Mich.

		Relatives: Son of George Henry Coffin and Jane Clifford (Guild) Coffin; married, October 4, 1904, to Abbie Sweetland Ghodey.
		See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page

Meyer Robert Guggenheim (1885-1959) — also known as M. Robert Guggenheim — of Washington, D.C. Born in New York, New York County, N.Y., May 17, 1885. Major in the U.S. Army during World War I; executive, American Smelting and Refining Corporation; U.S. Ambassador to Portugal, 1953-54. Died in Georgetown, Washington, D.C., November 16, 1959 (age 74 years, 183 days). Interment at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Va.

		Relatives: Son of Daniel Guggenheim and Florence (Schloss) Guggenheim; brother of Harry Frank Guggenheim; married 1905 to Grace Lillian Bernheimer; married 1915 to Margaret Gibbs Miller Weyher; married 1928 to Elizabeth Bross Eaton; married 1938 to Rebecca DeLoatch Pollard; nephew of Solomon Robert Guggenheim and Simon Guggenheim.
		Political family: McCormick-Guggenheim-Morton-Medill family of Illinois and New York.
		See also U.S. State Dept career summary

Charles MacVeagh (1860-1931) — of Washington, D.C. Born in West Chester, Chester County, Pa., June 6, 1860. Lawyer; general solicitor and assistant general counsel, U.S. Steel Corporation, 1901-25; U.S. Ambassador to Japan, 1925-29. Episcopalian. Member, Delta Kappa Epsilon. Died in Mission Canyon, Santa Barbara County, Calif., December 4, 1931 (age 71 years, 181 days). Interment at Church of the Redeemer Cemetery, Bryn Mawr, Pa.

		Relatives: Son of Isaac Wayne MacVeagh and Letitia Miner (Lewis) MacVeagh; married, June 15, 1887, to Fannie Davenport Rogers; father of Lincoln MacVeagh; nephew of Franklin MacVeagh.
		Political family: MacVeagh family of Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania (subset of the Four Thousand Related Politicians).
		See also U.S. State Dept career summary — NNDB dossier — Find-A-Grave memorial

William Barret Ridgely (1853-1920) — also known as William B. Ridgely — of Springfield, Sangamon County, Ill. Born in Springfield, Sangamon County, Ill., July 19, 1853. Republican. Vice-president, Springfield Iron Company; banker; postmaster at Springfield, Ill., 1897-99; U.S. Comptroller of the Currency, 1901-08; delegate to Republican National Convention from Illinois, 1908. Died in Washington, D.C., April 30, 1920 (age 66 years, 286 days). Interment at Oak Ridge Cemetery, Springfield, Ill.

		Relatives: Son of Charles Ridgely and Jane Maria (Barret) Ridgely; married, October 24, 1882, to Eleanor M. 'Ella' Cullom (daughter of Shelby Moore Cullom); married, December 30, 1905, to Kate Deering; nephew of Redick McKee Ridgely; second great-grandnephew of Samuel Huntington; first cousin twice removed of Nathaniel Huntington, James Huntington and Elisha Mills Huntington; first cousin thrice removed of Samuel H. Huntington; first cousin five times removed of Benjamin Huntington; second cousin twice removed of Joseph Lyman Huntington; second cousin four times removed of Joshua Coit, Henry Huntington and Gurdon Huntington; third cousin of Edwin Reed Ridgely and Austin Eugene Lathrop; third cousin once removed of Collins Dwight Huntington, George Milo Huntington and Helen Huntington Hull; third cousin thrice removed of John Davenport, Ebenezer Huntington, James Davenport, Asahel Otis, Augustus Seymour Porter, Samuel Lathrop, Peter Buell Porter, Abel Huntington, Zina Hyde Jr. and Benjamin Nicoll Huntington; fourth cousin once removed of John Hall Brockway, Abial Lathrop and Hilliard Samuel Ridgely.
		Political family: Kellogg-Adams-Seymour-Chapin family of Connecticut and New York (subset of the Four Thousand Related Politicians).
		See also Wikipedia article — Find-A-Grave memorial — Comptrollers of the Currency

John Schwartz (1793-1860) — of Reading, Berks County, Pa. Born in Sunbury, Northumberland County, Pa., October 27, 1793. Democrat. Served in the U.S. Army during the War of 1812; merchant; iron manufacturer; U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania 8th District, 1859-60; died in office 1860. Died in Washington, D.C., June 20, 1860 (age 66 years, 237 days). Interment at Charles Evans Cemetery, Reading, Pa.; cenotaph at Congressional Cemetery, Washington, D.C.

		Relatives: Son of Philip Michael Schwartz and Margaretha (Schlosser) Schwartz; married to Elizabeth Wood.
		See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page — Find-A-Grave memorial

Alan Nathaniel Steyne (1896-1946) — also known as Alan N. Steyne — Born in New York, New York County, N.Y., November 19, 1896. Served in the U.S. Army during World War I; in metal export business in China, 1928-29; U.S. Vice Consul in Montreal, 1929-31; Hamburg, 1932. Suffered a self-inflicted gunshot, and died soon after, in Emergency Hospital, Washington, D.C., May 22, 1946 (age 49 years, 184 days). Interment at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Va.

		Epitaph: "Until the day break, and the shadows flee away."
		See also Find-A-Grave memorial — Arlington National Cemetery unofficial website
		Image source: American Foreign Service Journal, June 1946

Samuel Gardiner Wright (1781-1845) — also known as Samuel G. Wright — of Imlaystown, Monmouth County, N.J. Born in Wrightstown, Burlington County, N.J., November 18, 1781. Whig. Merchant; owner of iron furnaces; U.S. Representative from New Jersey 2nd District, 1845; died in office 1845. Quaker. Died near Imlaystown, Monmouth County, N.J., July 30, 1845 (age 63 years, 254 days). Interment at East Branch Cemetery, Cox's Corner, N.J.; cenotaph at Congressional Cemetery, Washington, D.C.

See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page

"Enjoy the hospitable entertainment of a political graveyard."
Henry L. Clinton, Apollo Hall, New York City, February 3, 1872

The Political Graveyard is a web site about U.S. political history and cemeteries. Founded in 1996, it is the Internet's most comprehensive free source for American political biography, listing 320,919 politicians, living and dead.

	The coverage of this site includes (1) the President, Vice President, members of Congress, elected state and territorial officeholders in all fifty states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories; and the chief elected official, typically the mayor, of qualifying municipalities; (2) candidates at election, including primaries, for any of the above; (3) all federal judges and all state appellate judges; (4) certain federal officials, including the federal cabinet, diplomatic chiefs of mission, consuls, U.S. district attorneys, collectors of customs and internal revenue, members of major federal commissions; and political appointee (pre-1969) postmasters of qualifying communities; (5) state and national political party officials, including delegates, alternate delegates, and other participants in national party nominating conventions; (6) Americans who served as "honorary" consuls for other nations before 1950. Note: municipalities or communities "qualify", for Political Graveyard purposes, if they have at least half a million person-years of history, inclusive of predecessor, successor, and merged entities.
	The listings are incomplete; development of the database is a continually ongoing project.
	Information on this page — and on all other pages of this site — is believed to be accurate, but is not guaranteed. Users are advised to check with other sources before relying on any information here.
	The official URL for this page is: https://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/DC/metal.html.
	Links to this or any other Political Graveyard page are welcome, but specific page addresses may sometimes change as the site develops.
	If you are searching for a specific named individual, try the alphabetical index of politicians.
Copyright notices: (1) Facts are not subject to copyright; see Feist v. Rural Telephone. (2) Politician portraits displayed on this site are 70-pixel-wide monochrome thumbnail images, which I believe to constitute fair use under applicable copyright law. Where possible, each image is linked to its online source. However, requests from owners of copyrighted images to delete them from this site are honored. (3) Original material, programming, selection and arrangement are © 1996-2023 Lawrence Kestenbaum. (4) This work is also licensed for free non-commercial re-use, with attribution, under a Creative Commons License.
Site information: The Political Graveyard is created and maintained by Lawrence Kestenbaum, who is solely responsible for its structure and content. — The mailing address is The Political Graveyard, P.O. Box 2563, Ann Arbor MI 48106. — This site is hosted by HDL. — The Political Graveyard opened on July 1, 1996; the last full revision was done on March 8, 2023.