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Theodore McKeldin
McKeldin in 1951
53rd Governor of Maryland
In office January 10, 1951 – January 14, 1959
Preceded by	William Preston Lane Jr.
Succeeded by	J. Millard Tawes
40th Mayor of Baltimore
In office May 19, 1963 – December 1967
Preceded by	Philip H. Goodman
Succeeded by	Thomas D'Alesandro III
In office May 16, 1943 – May 16, 1947
Preceded by	Howard W. Jackson
Succeeded by	Thomas D'Alesandro Jr.
Personal details
Born	Theodore Roosevelt McKeldin (1900-11-20)November 20, 1900 Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Died	August 10, 1974(1974-08-10) (aged 73) Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Resting place	Green Mount Cemetery Baltimore, Maryland
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Honolulu Manzer
Children	2
Alma mater	University of Maryland, Baltimore (LLB)
Signature

Theodore Roosevelt McKeldin (November 20, 1900 – August 10, 1974) was an American politician. A member of the Republican Party, McKeldin served as mayor of Baltimore twice, from 1943 to 1947 and again from 1963 to 1967, and as Governor of Maryland from 1951 to 1959.

Early life

McKeldin was born in Baltimore as one of eleven children. His father had worked as a stonecutter and later was a Baltimore City police officer. McKeldin attended high school at Baltimore City College in the evenings while working as a bank clerk during the day. He later graduated from the University of Maryland Law School at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, and was admitted to the Maryland bar.

Two years later, he began his political ascent when worked as a secretary to Mayor William F. Broening, one of few Republican mayors of the predominantly Democratic city. McKeldin also served as vice president of the local chapter of the U.S. Junior Chamber of Commerce. In 1934, he co-founded the charity Santa Claus Anonymous.

Political career

McKeldin challenged Democratic mayor of Baltimore Howard W. Jackson in the 1939 election, but was defeated. He subsequently challenged the incumbent governor of Maryland, Democrat Herbert R. O'Conor, in 1942, but lost by five points.

McKeldin would ultimately be elected mayor of Baltimore in 1943 on his second attempt. During his first term, he oversaw the construction of Friendship Airport, now Baltimore-Washington International Airport, in Anne Arundel County. McKeldin ran for governor again in 1946, challenging William Preston Lane Jr., but was defeated again by a wider margin than in 1942.

McKeldin ran for governor a third time in 1950, defeating Lane in a rematch. As governor, McKeldin endeavored to improve the state highway system by establishing the Baltimore Beltway (now Interstate 695), the Capital Beltway (Interstate 495), and the John Hanson Highway portion of U.S. Route 50. He was a staunch supporter of interstate cooperation, saying once: "I rode by train over several state borders. I carried no passports. No one asked me to identify myself. No one had the right to. This is America." He was also an advocate for civil rights for African Americans, and received the Sidney Hollander Award for his pro-civil rights efforts. He was also a supporter of Israel.

In 1952, McKeldin was a major figure among moderate Republicans who campaigned for Dwight D. Eisenhower to receive the Republican nomination for President, and would deliver the principal nominating speech for Eisenhower at the 1952 Republican National Convention in Chicago.

In 1954, McKeldin was re-elected governor against president of the University of Maryland, College Park Harry C. "Curley" Byrd, who had controversially resisted desegregating the university. After his second term in Government House, McKeldin returned to his law practice in Baltimore; he was succeeded as Governor by Democrat J. Millard Tawes.

In 1963, McKeldin returned to public service after being narrowly elected to a second non-consecutive term as mayor of Baltimore. In his second term, his administration focused on the urban renewal of the city's Inner Harbor. In 1964, he decided to support Democratic candidate Lyndon B. Johnson over Republican Barry M. Goldwater in the presidential election, due to Goldwater's opposition to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In 1966, the city council voted to condemn and demolish 700 homes in the Rosemont neighborhood to build the Interstate 170 "highway to nowhere" that McKeldin had conceived with urban planner Robert Moses in 1941. McKeldin's second term as mayor ended in 1967, and he did not seek re-election.

McKeldin remains the last Republican mayor of Baltimore to date; indeed, he is the last Republican mayoral candidate to win even one-third of the vote in the city. He was the first Republican governor of Maryland to be re-elected, and the only one until Larry Hogan was re-elected in 2018.

Personal life

McKeldin married Honolulu Claire Manzer on October 17, 1924. They had two children.

McKeldin died on August 10, 1974, and is buried in Green Mount Cemetery in Baltimore.

Dedications

• McKeldin Center at Morgan State University
• McKeldin Library and McKeldin Mall at the University of Maryland, College Park
• Theodore McKeldin Gymnasium at Bowie State University
• McKeldin Building at Springfield Hospital Center
• McKeldin Beltway (Interstate 695)
• McKeldin Area, Patapsco Valley State Park
• McKeldin Planetarium at St. John's College

References

1. "Theodore R. McKeldin (1900-1974) Biographical Series; Governor of Maryland, 1951-1959 (Republican)". Archives of Maryland, MSA SC 3520-1484. Maryland State Government. 9 November 2001. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
2. White, Frank F. Jr. (1970). The Governors of Maryland 1777-1970. Annapolis: The Hall of Records Commission. pp. 285–291. ISBN 978-0942370010. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
3. Vera Foster Rollo. Your Maryland A History. p. 387.
4. "Theodore R. McKeldin, 1951–1959". Retrieved 17 December 2015.
5. Maryland Historical Society: Sidney Hollander Collection 1926–1972
6. Baltimore GOP Mayor Says Goldwater Made Tacit Deal for Extremist Help; The Harvard Crimson, November 9, 1965
7. Elfenbein, Jessica, Hollowak, Thomas L., Nix, Elizabeth. Baltimore '68 : Riots and Rebirth in an American City. p. 62.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
8. "Governor O'Malley Breaks Ground on Removal of West Baltimore's 'Highway to Nowhere' MARC Station improvement plan reunites West Baltimore communities". Retrieved 28 August 2014.
9. "Clara Ziegler Obituary". The Washington Post. October 20, 2005.

General references

• Theodore R. McKeldin biography from the Maryland State Archives. Accessed Oct 25, 2004.
• Theodore R. McKeldin papers, at University of Maryland Libraries.

External links

• A film clip "Longines Chronoscope with Theodore K. McKelden (SIC) (September 17, 1951)" is available for viewing at the Internet Archive
• A film clip "Longines Chronoscope with Theodore R. McKeldin (November 7, 1952)" is available for viewing at the Internet Archive
• Appearances on C-SPAN

v t e Governors of Maryland
Provincial (1632–1776)	L. Calvert E. Hill Greene Stone Fendall P. Calvert C. Calvert, 3rd Baron Wharton Notley C. Calvert, 3rd Baron B. Calvert Joseph Coode Neh. Blakiston Copley Lawrence Andros Greenberry Andros Lawrence Nicholson Nat. Blakiston Tench Seymour Lloyd Hart Brooke C. Calvert, 5th Baron B. L. Calvert Ogle C. Calvert, 5th Baron Ogle Bladen Ogle Tasker Sharpe Eden
State (since 1776)	Johnson T. Lee Paca Smallwood J. Howard Plater Brice T. Lee Stone Henry Ogle Mercer R. Bowie Wright E. Lloyd R. Bowie Winder Ridgely C. Goldsborough Sprigg Stevens Kent Martin T. Carroll Martin G. Howard J. Thomas Veazey Grason F. Thomas Pratt P. Thomas Lowe Ligon Hicks Bradford Swann O. Bowie Whyte Groome J. Carroll Hamilton McLane H. Lloyd Jackson Brown Lowndes Smith Warfield Crothers P. Goldsborough Harrington Ritchie Nice O'Conor Lane McKeldin Tawes Agnew Mandel B. Lee Hughes Schaefer Glendening Ehrlich O'Malley Hogan Moore
Italics indicate acting officeholders

v t e Mayors of Baltimore
Calhoun T. Smith Johnson Stiles Johnson Montgomery Johnson Montgomery Small Steuart Hunt S. Smith Leakin Brady Hillen Law Davies Stansbury Jerome Hollins Hinks Swann Brown Blackburn Baker Chapman Banks Van Sant Latrobe Kane Latrobe Whyte Latrobe Hodges Latrobe Davidson Latrobe Hooper Malster Hayes McLane Timanus Mahool Preston Broening Jackson Broening Jackson McKeldin D'Alesandro Jr. Grady Goodman McKeldin D'Alesandro III Schaefer Burns Schmoke O'Malley Dixon Rawlings-Blake Pugh Young Scott

• 1900 births
• 1974 deaths
• Activists for African-American civil rights
• Republican Party governors of Maryland
• Mayors of Baltimore
• Politicians from Baltimore
• University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law alumni
• Baltimore City College alumni
• 20th-century American Episcopalians
• 20th-century mayors of places in Maryland