This article is about the mayor of Pittsburgh, for other people named George Guthrie see George Guthrie (disambiguation)

George Guthrie (disambiguation)

George Guthrie may refer to:*George H. Guthrie , professor at Union University*George James Guthrie , English surgeon*George W. Guthrie , mayor*George Guthrie , American track and field athlete...

.

George W. Guthrie (September 5, 1848–March 8, 1917), served as Mayor of Pittsburgh from 1906 to 1909.

Early life

George Wilkins Guthrie was born in Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...

 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

Northside (Pittsburgh)

North Side refers to the region of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, located to the north of the Allegheny River and the Ohio River...

 (old Allegheny City

Allegheny, Pennsylvania

Allegheny City was a Pennsylvania municipality located on the north side of the junction of the Allegheny and Ohio rivers, across from downtown Pittsburgh. It was annexed by Pittsburgh in 1907...

) 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.

Guthrie's term was noted for a significant decline in the city's death rate due to improvement in public health. The rate had been among the highest in America's northern cities, around 20 per 1,000 inhabitants, a level at which it had been stuck for 20 years. By the end of his term, the rate had fallen to 16 per 1,000, the lowest in Pittsburgh's history to that point. Notable declines were seen in incidences of typhoid fever

Typhoid fever

Typhoid fever, also known as Typhoid, is a common worldwide bacterial disease, transmitted by the ingestion of food or water contaminated with the feces of an infected person, which contain the bacterium Salmonella enterica, serovar Typhi...

.

Later life

After leaving office, Guthrie was appointed United States Ambassador to Japan

United States Ambassador to Japan

The United States Ambassador to Japan is the ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary from the United States to Japan. Since the opening of Japan by Commodore Matthew C. Perry, in 1854, the U.S. maintained diplomatic relations with Japan, except for the ten-year period following the attack on...

. He died while at that post in Tokyo

Tokyo

, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

 in 1917. He is buried in Allegheny Cemetery

Allegheny Cemetery

Allegheny Cemetery is one of the largest and oldest burial grounds in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.It is a nonsectarian, wooded hillside park located at 4734 Butler Street in the Lawrenceville neighborhood and bounded by Bloomfield, Garfield, and Stanton Heights...

.

Honors

Guthrie Street in the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Regent Square

Regent Square (Pittsburgh)

Regent Square is a distinct neighborhood in the East End of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. According to the , it is "a neighborhood that includes portions of the municipalities of Pittsburgh, Edgewood, Swissvale and Wilkinsburg", though traditionalists associate the neighborhood exclusively with the...

was constructed in 1910 and named in the Mayor's honor.