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Created page with "{{Infobox officeholder | name=John "Jack" Christian | office=Mayor-President<br/> East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, USA | party=D..."
{{Infobox officeholder
| name=John "Jack" Christian
| office=[[Mayor]]-President<br/> [[Baton Rouge|East Baton Rouge Parish]], [[Louisiana]], [[United States|USA]]
| party=[[Democratic Party|Democrati]]
| term_start=January 1, 1957
| term_end=December 31, 1964
| preceded=Mrs. Jesse L. Webb, Jr. (interim)
| succeeded=[[Woodrow Wilson Dumas]]
| office2=Member of East Baton Rouge Parish Metro Council
| term_start2=January 1, 1953
| term_end2=December 31, 1956
| birth_date=January 22, 1911
| birth_place=Vicksburg, Warren County<br> [[Mississippi]], [[United States|USA]]
| death_place=[[Baton Rouge]], Louisiana
| death_date=December 31, 1972 (aged 61)
| resting_place=Resthaven Gardens of Memory in Baton Rouge
| residence=Baton Rouge, Louisiana
| religion=[[Episcopalian]]
| alma_mater=[[Louisiana State University]]
| occupation=[[Automobile]] dealer
| spouse=Caryol "Toby" Caulfield Christian (married 1942-1972, his death)
| children=No children<br>
John C. and Bessie Nicholson Christian}}
'''John Christian''', known as '''Jack Christian''' (January 22, 1911 – December 31, 1972 )<ref name=ssdi>{{cite web|url=http://ssdi.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/ssdi.cgi|title=Social Security Death Index|publisher=ssdi.rootsweb.ancestry.com|accessdate=December 23, 2010; under pay wall}}</ref> was a [[business]]man who served from 1957 to 1964 as the [[Mayor]]/President of [[Baton Rouge|East Baton Rouge Parish]], [[Louisiana]].<ref name=ebroff>{{cite web|url=http://www.ebr.lib.la.us/library/BatonRougeOfficials1855to2003.pdf|title=Who’s Who in City-Parish Government|publisher=ebr.lib.la.us|accessdate=December 23, 2010}}</ref>
==Background==
Christian was born to John C. Christian and the former Bessie Nicholson (1884–1971)<ref name=ssdi/> in Vicksburg in Warren County in western [[Mississippi]], located on the [[Mississippi River]] and site of an [[American Civil War]] siege. He was educated in the Vicksburg public school and then studied engineering at [[Louisiana State University]], which brought him to Baton Rouge. From 1930 to 1937, he was employed by his father's automobile agency, Christian & Brough Company in Vicksburg. From 1937 to 1938, he was a representative of the Yellow Truck and Coach Manufacturing Company with duties in Mississippi, Louisiana, [[Tennessee]], and [[Arkansas]]. In 1938, he founded Baton Rouge Motors Company, with a franchise for Cadillac, La Salle, and Oldsmobile vehicles.<ref name=lahist>{{cite web|url=https://www.lahistory.org/resources/dictionary-louisiana-biography/dictionary-louisiana-biography-c/|title=Christian, John "Jack"|publisher=Louisiana Historical Association: ''A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography'' (lahistory.org)|accessdate=November 12, 2019}}</ref>
Christian's work was interrupted by [[World War II]], when at the age of thirty-one joined the [[United States Navy|United States Naval Reserve]] and served, accordingly, from 1942 to 1945. He was discharged from the military at the rank of lieutenant. After the war, he headed from 1946 to 1951 Jack Christian Motor Company in Baton Rouge. From 1952 to 1956, he was the sales manager of McInnes Chevrolet.<ref name=lahist/>
In 1942, Christian married the former Caryol "Toby" Caulfield at the First [[Presbyterian]] Church in [[New Orleans]]. The couple had no children. He was an [[Episcopalian]]. Christian was active in the Lions Club, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Fraternal Order of Eagles, and the American Legion.<ref name=lahist/>
==Political career==
From 1953 to 1956, Christian, allied with the [[Earl Long|anti-Long]] faction of Louisiana Democratic politics,<ref>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=Nn72O7GtghoC&pg=PA281&lpg=PA281&dq=C.+H.+%22Sammy%22+Downs&source=bl&ots=3VVIioIPtp&sig=6V3sq_sFUKPwa7zqkpP8WhBWZkU&hl=en&sa=X&ei=KJXMUdQezK3KAbmzgJgC&ved=0CDoQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=C.%20H.%20%22Sammy%22%20Downs&f=false|author=Michael Kurtz and [[Morgan D. Peoples]]|title=Earl K. Long: The Saga of Uncle Earl in Louisiana Politics|date=1990 ISBN 0-8071-1577-0|publisher=[[Louisiana State University]] Press|accessdate=June 28, 2013}}</ref> served part-time on the Baton Rouge City-Parish Council, a combined municipal/parish operation, a hybrid of a city council member and a county commissioner, originally launched in East Baton Rouge Parish on January 1, 1949.<ref name=ebroff/><ref>The East Baton Rouge Parish listing of metro council members does not give the numbers of the districts. There is only a list of all who served during each four-year term of office.</ref> On August 22, 1956, Christian was elected Mayor-President and served from January 1, 1957, to December 31, 1964. In office, he introduced a major medical insurance policy for city-parish employees, created a system of job classification and salary schedules for the employees, and introduced a $21 million sewer expansion project.<ref name=lahist/> He succeeded Mrs. Jesse L. Webb, Jr., who had served only a few remaining months of her husband's term as mayor-president.<ref name=ebroff/>
In October 1959, Christian, citing traffic and safety concerns, moved trick-or-treating from Saturday, October 31 ([[Halloween]]), to Friday, October 30, in order to accommodate the 1959 LSU Tigers [[football]] team game.<ref name="halloween">{{cite web|url=http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/62491322.html|author=Chante Dionne Warren|title=Halloween changes a scary proposition for mayors|date=September 29, 2009|publisher=''The Baton Rouge Advocate''|accessdate=December 23, 2010}}</ref> During the game, LSU's Billy Cannon returned a punt against the Ole Miss Rebels]], resulting in an 89-yard [[touchdown]] that helped to keep LSU undefeated and secured Cannon the [[Heisman Trophy]], making him the only Tiger to have won the trophy thus far.<ref name="halloween"/>
On August 29, 1964, Christian was defeated for re-nomination by his fellow [[Democratic Party|Democrat]] [[Woodrow Wilson Dumas]],<ref name=lahist/> a member of the parish council since 1953, who had served his first term on the body alongside Christian. Dumas served four terms as mayor-president, with service ending in his 1980 defeat by the Democrat James Patrick Screen, Jr. (1943-1994).<ref name=ebroff/>
After his mayoral tenure, Christian was until his death the vice president and general manager of McInnes-Peterson Chevrolet. He died in Baton Rouge on the last day of 1972, three weeks shy of his 62nd birthday.<ref name=lahist/><ref>''A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography'' uses these sources in its biographical sketch of Jack Christian: the Christian Papers at the Centroplex Branch, Baton Rouge Public Library; Ellis Arthur Davis, ''The Historical Encyclopedia of Louisiana,'' Vol. II (1937); ''Baton Rouge Register'', IV (1952); Christian obituary, in defunct ''Baton Rouge State-Times,'' January 1, 1973.</ref>
==References==
{{reflist}}
* [http://cdm16340.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/landingpage/collection/p15196coll5 Jack Christian Collection - Baton Rouge Room]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Christian, Jack}}
[[Category:Louisiana People]]
[[Category:Mississippi]]
[[Category:Business People]]
[[Category:Politicians]]
[[Category:Mayors]]
[[Category:Democrats]]
[[Category:Episcopalians]]
[[Category:United States Navy]]
[[Category:World War II]]
| name=John "Jack" Christian
| office=[[Mayor]]-President<br/> [[Baton Rouge|East Baton Rouge Parish]], [[Louisiana]], [[United States|USA]]
| party=[[Democratic Party|Democrati]]
| term_start=January 1, 1957
| term_end=December 31, 1964
| preceded=Mrs. Jesse L. Webb, Jr. (interim)
| succeeded=[[Woodrow Wilson Dumas]]
| office2=Member of East Baton Rouge Parish Metro Council
| term_start2=January 1, 1953
| term_end2=December 31, 1956
| birth_date=January 22, 1911
| birth_place=Vicksburg, Warren County<br> [[Mississippi]], [[United States|USA]]
| death_place=[[Baton Rouge]], Louisiana
| death_date=December 31, 1972 (aged 61)
| resting_place=Resthaven Gardens of Memory in Baton Rouge
| residence=Baton Rouge, Louisiana
| religion=[[Episcopalian]]
| alma_mater=[[Louisiana State University]]
| occupation=[[Automobile]] dealer
| spouse=Caryol "Toby" Caulfield Christian (married 1942-1972, his death)
| children=No children<br>
John C. and Bessie Nicholson Christian}}
'''John Christian''', known as '''Jack Christian''' (January 22, 1911 – December 31, 1972 )<ref name=ssdi>{{cite web|url=http://ssdi.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/ssdi.cgi|title=Social Security Death Index|publisher=ssdi.rootsweb.ancestry.com|accessdate=December 23, 2010; under pay wall}}</ref> was a [[business]]man who served from 1957 to 1964 as the [[Mayor]]/President of [[Baton Rouge|East Baton Rouge Parish]], [[Louisiana]].<ref name=ebroff>{{cite web|url=http://www.ebr.lib.la.us/library/BatonRougeOfficials1855to2003.pdf|title=Who’s Who in City-Parish Government|publisher=ebr.lib.la.us|accessdate=December 23, 2010}}</ref>
==Background==
Christian was born to John C. Christian and the former Bessie Nicholson (1884–1971)<ref name=ssdi/> in Vicksburg in Warren County in western [[Mississippi]], located on the [[Mississippi River]] and site of an [[American Civil War]] siege. He was educated in the Vicksburg public school and then studied engineering at [[Louisiana State University]], which brought him to Baton Rouge. From 1930 to 1937, he was employed by his father's automobile agency, Christian & Brough Company in Vicksburg. From 1937 to 1938, he was a representative of the Yellow Truck and Coach Manufacturing Company with duties in Mississippi, Louisiana, [[Tennessee]], and [[Arkansas]]. In 1938, he founded Baton Rouge Motors Company, with a franchise for Cadillac, La Salle, and Oldsmobile vehicles.<ref name=lahist>{{cite web|url=https://www.lahistory.org/resources/dictionary-louisiana-biography/dictionary-louisiana-biography-c/|title=Christian, John "Jack"|publisher=Louisiana Historical Association: ''A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography'' (lahistory.org)|accessdate=November 12, 2019}}</ref>
Christian's work was interrupted by [[World War II]], when at the age of thirty-one joined the [[United States Navy|United States Naval Reserve]] and served, accordingly, from 1942 to 1945. He was discharged from the military at the rank of lieutenant. After the war, he headed from 1946 to 1951 Jack Christian Motor Company in Baton Rouge. From 1952 to 1956, he was the sales manager of McInnes Chevrolet.<ref name=lahist/>
In 1942, Christian married the former Caryol "Toby" Caulfield at the First [[Presbyterian]] Church in [[New Orleans]]. The couple had no children. He was an [[Episcopalian]]. Christian was active in the Lions Club, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Fraternal Order of Eagles, and the American Legion.<ref name=lahist/>
==Political career==
From 1953 to 1956, Christian, allied with the [[Earl Long|anti-Long]] faction of Louisiana Democratic politics,<ref>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=Nn72O7GtghoC&pg=PA281&lpg=PA281&dq=C.+H.+%22Sammy%22+Downs&source=bl&ots=3VVIioIPtp&sig=6V3sq_sFUKPwa7zqkpP8WhBWZkU&hl=en&sa=X&ei=KJXMUdQezK3KAbmzgJgC&ved=0CDoQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=C.%20H.%20%22Sammy%22%20Downs&f=false|author=Michael Kurtz and [[Morgan D. Peoples]]|title=Earl K. Long: The Saga of Uncle Earl in Louisiana Politics|date=1990 ISBN 0-8071-1577-0|publisher=[[Louisiana State University]] Press|accessdate=June 28, 2013}}</ref> served part-time on the Baton Rouge City-Parish Council, a combined municipal/parish operation, a hybrid of a city council member and a county commissioner, originally launched in East Baton Rouge Parish on January 1, 1949.<ref name=ebroff/><ref>The East Baton Rouge Parish listing of metro council members does not give the numbers of the districts. There is only a list of all who served during each four-year term of office.</ref> On August 22, 1956, Christian was elected Mayor-President and served from January 1, 1957, to December 31, 1964. In office, he introduced a major medical insurance policy for city-parish employees, created a system of job classification and salary schedules for the employees, and introduced a $21 million sewer expansion project.<ref name=lahist/> He succeeded Mrs. Jesse L. Webb, Jr., who had served only a few remaining months of her husband's term as mayor-president.<ref name=ebroff/>
In October 1959, Christian, citing traffic and safety concerns, moved trick-or-treating from Saturday, October 31 ([[Halloween]]), to Friday, October 30, in order to accommodate the 1959 LSU Tigers [[football]] team game.<ref name="halloween">{{cite web|url=http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/62491322.html|author=Chante Dionne Warren|title=Halloween changes a scary proposition for mayors|date=September 29, 2009|publisher=''The Baton Rouge Advocate''|accessdate=December 23, 2010}}</ref> During the game, LSU's Billy Cannon returned a punt against the Ole Miss Rebels]], resulting in an 89-yard [[touchdown]] that helped to keep LSU undefeated and secured Cannon the [[Heisman Trophy]], making him the only Tiger to have won the trophy thus far.<ref name="halloween"/>
On August 29, 1964, Christian was defeated for re-nomination by his fellow [[Democratic Party|Democrat]] [[Woodrow Wilson Dumas]],<ref name=lahist/> a member of the parish council since 1953, who had served his first term on the body alongside Christian. Dumas served four terms as mayor-president, with service ending in his 1980 defeat by the Democrat James Patrick Screen, Jr. (1943-1994).<ref name=ebroff/>
After his mayoral tenure, Christian was until his death the vice president and general manager of McInnes-Peterson Chevrolet. He died in Baton Rouge on the last day of 1972, three weeks shy of his 62nd birthday.<ref name=lahist/><ref>''A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography'' uses these sources in its biographical sketch of Jack Christian: the Christian Papers at the Centroplex Branch, Baton Rouge Public Library; Ellis Arthur Davis, ''The Historical Encyclopedia of Louisiana,'' Vol. II (1937); ''Baton Rouge Register'', IV (1952); Christian obituary, in defunct ''Baton Rouge State-Times,'' January 1, 1973.</ref>
==References==
{{reflist}}
* [http://cdm16340.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/landingpage/collection/p15196coll5 Jack Christian Collection - Baton Rouge Room]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Christian, Jack}}
[[Category:Louisiana People]]
[[Category:Mississippi]]
[[Category:Business People]]
[[Category:Politicians]]
[[Category:Mayors]]
[[Category:Democrats]]
[[Category:Episcopalians]]
[[Category:United States Navy]]
[[Category:World War II]]