Brand Whitlock (March 4, 1869 – May 24, 1934) was an American journalist, attorney, politician, Georgist, four-time mayor of Toledo, Ohio, elected on the Independent ticket; ambassador to Belgium, and author of numerous articles and books, both novels and non-fiction.
Journalist
Born Joseph Brand Whitlock in Urbana, Ohio, son of the Rev. Elias and Mollie Lavinia (Brand) Whitlock, he was educated in the public schools and by private tutors. Rather than attend college, Whitlock began working as a reporter for several papers in Toledo, Ohio, including The Toledo Blade.
In 1891, he moved to Chicago to work for The Chicago Herald. He covered baseball, including longtime Chicago captain-manager Cap Anson, whom he sometimes referred to in print as "Grampa." He also covered the 1892 Republican National Convention and the 1892 Illinois legislative session. Whitlock joined the Whitechapel Club.
Springfield, Illinois
His political writing attracted attention by Illinois politicians, and Whitlock was offered a job as Gov. John Peter Altgeld's personal secretary; instead he took a position with the Secretary of State. While in Springfield, he also studied the law under Senator J. M. Palmer; he was admitted to the bar in 1894, at the age of 25.
Whitlock had married Susan Brainerd in 1892, but she died four months after their wedding. In 1895 he married again, choosing her sister Nell Brainerd.
In 1893, Whitlock prepared the pardon documents for the Haymarket Affair's convicted men: Fielden, Neebe, and Schwab. After Gov. Altgeld signed the pardons, Whitlock commented, "The storm will break now," to which the governor replied, "It was merely doing right."
