Dr. William James McCracken (January 31, 1878 – December 3, 1949) was the 38th Mayor of Oakland (1933–1941). He was elected to the City Council in 1933, 1937, 1941 and 1945 in District 4.
McCracken was born in Oakland, the youngest child of John Henry McCracken and Mary Dolan (McCracken). They had "crossed the plains in the gold rush days." They settled first in Hangtown (now Placerville), then moved to 20th Avenue and Foothill where McCracken was born. 1
He attended Oakland schools, then U.C. Berkeley, then the U.C. School of Dentistry. He married Cora Evelyn McKinstry (McCracken) (July 9, 1887 – July 11, 1960) in 1907. They had two children, Evelyn Alice McCracken (Wurts)(Warnecke) and John Canning McCracken.
McCracken served on the Oakland Library Board, then was elected to the city council in 1933, and elected mayor. He served on council four terms, two of those as mayor.
After Amelia Earhart's successful solo flight from Hawai'i to the mainland in 1935, mayor McCracken and others were on hand to welcome her back to Oakland.
1935 with Amelia Earhart 2
Other
William's sister Mary Isabel McCracken taught in Oakland public schools for a decade before going to Stanford to study bionomics and entomology, where she got an M.A. in 1905 and a Ph.D. in 1908.
Links and References
- Death Takes Ex-Mayor M'Cracken Oakland Tribune December 4, 1949 (p2)
- William McCracken letters and photographs, 1933-1949 Oakland History Center, Oakland Public Library
