The Life of GEORGE WILKINS GUTHRIE

Mayor of Pittsburgh from 1906 to 1909.

Early life

George Wilkins Guthrie was born in Pittsburgh in 1848. He became an attorney and started an involvement in reform issues during an era of increasing government corruption and largess.

Pittsburgh politics

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. His legacy is most notable for the annexation of the city's Northside (old Allegheny City) into Pittsburgh. The Northside was home to many of the most influential families in the region and its status was hotly disputed for nearly a decade, culminating in a U.S. Supreme Court decision finally allowing it to be merged into Pittsburgh. In many ways, Mayor Guthrie was instrumental in making the transition and easing the political fallout in the disputed annexation. He also successfully responded to a flood in the city in 1907.

Later life

After leaving office, Guthrie was appointed United States Ambassador to Japan. He died while at that post in Tokyo in 1917.

Honors

Guthrie Street in the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Regent Square was constructed in 1910 and named in the Mayor's honor.