Gaylord Wilshire

Gaylord Wilshire, from his book Socialism Inevitable

Henry Gaylord Wilshire (June 7, 1861 – September 7, 1927), known to his contemporaries by his middle name of "Gaylord", was a land developer, publisher, and outspoken socialist. He gave Los Angeles' famous Wilshire Boulevard its name.

Biography

Early years

Henry Gaylord Wilshire was born June 7, 1861, in Cincinnati, Ohio. He moved to Los Angeles, California in 1884.

In 1895 he began developing 35 acres (140,000 m2) stretching westward from Westlake Park for an elite residential subdivision. He donated a strip of land to the city of Los Angeles for a boulevard through what was then a barley field, on the conditions that it would be named for him and that railroad lines and commercial or industrial trucking would be banned.

In 1900, Wilshire was arrested for speaking in a public park in Los Angeles. A judge dismissed the charges, but the incident caused Wilshire to leave Los Angeles for New York.[1]

Political career

Wilshire was a frequent and far-ranging political candidate. He stood as the Nationalist Party Congressional candidate for the 6th California District in 1890, as the candidate of the Socialist Labor Party for Attorney General in 1891, for the British Parliament in 1894, for Congress in the California 6th District again in 1900, this time on the ticket of the Social Democratic Party of America, for the Canadian Parliament in 1902, and for Congress from New York in 1904. In 1909 Wilshire was a candidate for city council in Los Angeles as a part of the Socialist Party slate, which was backed at that time by the Los Angeles unions. By about 1911 Wilshire began to have his doubts about electoral politics, and shifted his allegiance to revolutionary syndicalism and advocacy of the general strike.[2] He was the editor of the Syndicalist League's magazine The Syndicalist during 1913. During World War I Wilshire worked with Emma Goldman in the Free Speech League in New York.

In 1900, Wilshire launched the first of his publishing ventures in Los Angeles, a magazine called The Challenge. At least 40 issues of the publication were produced between December 1900 and October 1901.[3] The name of this publication was subsequently changed to Wilshire's Monthly Magazine in 1901, before being shortened to Wilshire's Magazine (1902) and Wilshire's (1904), with publication variously in New York and Toronto. First a small-format magazine, later a tabloid newspaper, Wilshire's continued in production until February 1915.

Later life, death, and legacy

Wilshire eventually returned to Los Angeles and made his connection with the now famous boulevard that bore his name. He had no direct involvement with its gradual expansion in the years while he was absent from the region.[4]

Wilshire was also interested in the health industry. In 1925, he started marketing the Ionaco, an electric belt that could purportedly improve health. The belt gained popularity from its marketing.[5]:33–36 But was dismissed by medical health experts as quackery.[6][7]

He died destitute on September 7, 1927 in New York.[4] He was buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx, New York.

Wilshire Drive in Phoenix, Arizona, was named after him, as is Wilshire Avenue in Fullerton, California (where he first ran for Congress in 1890, the first congressional candidate in America from what became a socialist-oriented party).[8]

See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Starr, Kevin. Inventing the Dream: California through the Progressive Era. New York: Oxford University Press, 1986; pp. 209-211.
  2. ↑
  3. ↑ "The Challenge," OCLC citation. Retrieved April 21, 2010.
  4. 1 2 "Wilshire Passes in New York: Word of Death of Pioneer of Los Angeles Received by Relative Here". Los Angeles Times: Archives. September 8, 1927. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  5. ↑ Thomas de la Peña, Carolyn (2004). "Plugging in to Modernity". In Rosner, Lisa. The Technological Fix: How People Use Technology To Create and Solve Problems. London: Taylor & Francis. pp. 31–59. ISBN 9780415947114.
  6. ↑ Fishbein, Morris. (1932). Fads and Quackery in Healing: An Analysis of the Foibles of the Healing Cults. New York: Covici Friede. p. 154
  7. ↑ Holbrook, Stewart. (1959). Gaylord Wilshire's I-ON-A-CO. In The Golden Age of Quackery. Collier Books. pp. 135-144
  8. ↑ See the 2012 biography by Los Angeles City College teacher Louis Rosen: http://www.amazon.com/henry-gaylord-wilshire-millionaire-socialist/dp/1469982765/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1382462782&sr=1-1

Works

Books and pamphlets

Magazines

Further reading

External links

Henry Gaylord Wilshire at Find a Grave

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