When John C. Chase was elected mayor of Haverhill in 1898, be became the first Socialist to serve as mayor of an American city.
He was born in Gilmanton, N.H., but became a shoe-maker in Haverhill in 1882. He joined the trade union movement in 1886.
He was re-elected mayor in 1899 and became the chairman of the national convention of the Social Democratic Party in 1901.
He was a candidate of governor of Massachusetts, and also of New York. He became a national officer of the Socialists in 1908 and later was Nebraska state secretary. He was a candidate for Congress from West Virginia in 1922, 1924, and 1934.
We are still searching for the date and location of his death.
Haverhill Citizens Hall of Fame 