{{Short description|American politician}} {{about|the American politician|the English journalist and Chevalier of the Order of Leopold|Richard Reading, CdeG(B)}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Richard Reading | image = Readingmayor39.jpg | caption = |order=59th | office = Mayor of Detroit | term_start = January 4, 1938 | term_end = January 1, 1940 | predecessor = Frank Couzens | successor = Edward Jeffries | office1 = Detroit City Clerk | term1 = 1926 – 1938 | office2 = Detroit City Controller | term2 = 1924 – 1926 | office3 = Detroit City Assessor | term3 = 1921 – 1924 | birth_date = {{birth date text|February 7, 1882}} | birth_place = Detroit, Michigan, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|December 9, 1952|February 7, 1882}} | death_place = Brighton, Michigan, U.S. | constituency = | party = | education = University of Detroit | spouse = {{marriage|Blanche White|1901}} | children = 4 | profession = | signature = | footnotes = }}
'''Richard W. Reading''' (February 7, 1882 – December 9, 1952) was a Republican mayor of Detroit, Michigan from 1938 to 1940.
==Biography== Richard William Reading was born in Detroit on February 7, 1882, the son of Richard W. and Louise M. Reading.<ref name = "who">{{citation | title = Who's Who in Detroit, 1935-36 | publisher = Walter Romig & Co | year = 1935 | page = 264}}</ref> He was educated in the Detroit Public Schools and attended the University of Detroit.<ref name = "who"/>
Reading married Blanche White in 1901.<ref name = "who"/> The couple had four children.<ref name = "pitt"/>
Reading was for a time a semi-pro wrestler.<ref name = "pitt"/> He later worked variously as a printer, a newspaper executive, and a real estate dealer before entering public life in 1921.<ref name = "pitt"/>
Reading was appointed City Assessor in 1921, moved to City Controller in 1924, and was elected City Clerk in 1926.<ref name = "who"/> He stayed in the office of clerk until 1939, when he ran for mayor, ultimately defeating Patrick H. O'Brien by nearly two-to-one.<ref name = "pitt">{{cite news | title = CIO Candidate is Defeated in Detroit Vote | newspaper = Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | date = Nov 3, 1937 | url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=1U4nAAAAIBAJ&sjid=vGkDAAAAIBAJ&pg=2064,1924001&dq=richard-reading&hl=en}}</ref> However, once in the office, Reading engaged in graft, selling protection to a numbers racketeers and promotions to police officers.<ref name = "jeffries">{{citation | title = Detroit and the "Good War": the World War II letters of Mayor Edward Jeffries and friends |author1 = Edward Jeffries | author2 = Dominic J. Capeci | publisher = University Press of Kentucky |year = 1996 | page = 6 | isbn = 0-8131-1974-X | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=mGds2X-qNAAC&dq=%22richard+w+Reading%22&pg=PA6}}</ref> This corruption was exposed as the campaign for the next mayoral election was gearing up,<ref name = "jeffries"/> and Reading was crushed by Edward Jeffries.<ref name = "jeffries"/><ref name = "nyt2">{{cite news | title = JEFFIES LIKELY WINNER; Detroit Mayor Seeks Fifth Term | newspaper = New York Times | date = Nov 2, 1947}}</ref>
Shortly after leaving office, Reading was indicted on charges of accepting bribes and conspiring to protect Detroit's gambling rackets.<ref name = "detnews">{{cite news | title = Kilpatrick among other Detroit officials who have faced legal trouble | newspaper = The Detroit News| date = March 24, 2008 | url = http://detnews.com/article/20080324/METRO/803240424/Kilpatrick-among-other-Detroit-officials-who-have-faced-legal-trouble#ixzz150Q19JY8}}</ref> He was sentenced to four to five years in prison, of which he served three.<ref name = "detnews"/>
Richard W. Reading died on December 9, 1952, in Brighton, Michigan.<ref name = "nyt">{{cite news | title = EX-MAYOR READING OF DETROIT IS DEAD| newspaper = THE NEW YORK TIMES | date = December 10, 1952 | url = http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0612F93A5E177B93C2A81789D95F468585F9}}</ref>
{{s-start}} {{s-off}} {{s-bef | before=Frank Couzens}} {{s-ttl | title=Mayor of Detroit | years = January 4, 1938 – January 1, 1940}} {{s-aft | after=Edward Jeffries}} {{end}}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category}}
{{DetroitMayors}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reading, Richard}} Category:1882 births Category:1952 deaths Category:Mayors of Detroit Category:University of Detroit Mercy alumni Category:Michigan Republicans Category:20th-century mayors of places in Michigan