Edward Parsons Smith was the mayor of Omaha

Omaha

Omaha may refer to:*Omaha , a Native American tribe that currently resides in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Nebraska-Places:United States* Omaha, Nebraska* Omaha, Arkansas* Omaha, Georgia* Omaha, Illinois* Omaha, Texas...

, Nebraska

Nebraska

Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....

 from 1918 to 1921.

Biography

Smith was born September 30, 1860. He beat incumbent Mayor "Cowboy" Jim Dahlman in 1918 on a reform ticket aiming to defeat Tom Dennison

Tom Dennison (political boss)

Tom Dennison, aka Pickhandle, Old Grey Wolf, was the early-20th century political boss of Omaha, Nebraska. A politically savvy, culturally astute gambler, Dennison was in charge of the city's wide crime rings, including prostitution, gambling and bootlegging in the 1920s...

's political machine, which at that point had run Omaha for at least 15 years. Dennison's displeasure with Smith's moral stance was frequently voiced, and took shape in the Omaha Race Riot of 1919

Omaha Race Riot of 1919

The Omaha Race Riot occurred in Omaha, Nebraska, on September 28–29, 1919. The race riot resulted in the brutal lynching of Will Brown, a black worker; the death of two white men; the attempted hanging of the mayor Edward Parsons Smith; and a public rampage by thousands of whites who set fire to...

. During that riot Smith was strung up and almost lynched by a mob. After being rescued by Omaha Police detectives and taken to Omaha's Ford Hospital

Ford Hospital

The Ford Hospital, also called the Fifth Avenue Hotel, is located at 121 South 25th Street in Midtown Omaha, Nebraska. Built in 1916, the hospital was a privately-operated facility built and operated by Dr. Michael J. Ford. Operating until 1922, it was the last small, private hospital in the city....

, Smith's political will never returned. He died May 21, 1930.