John William Griggs (July 10, 1849 – November 28, 1927) was an American lawyer and Republican Party politician who served as the 29th Governor of New Jersey from 1896 to 1898 and the 43rd United States Attorney General from 1898 to 1901.

As Governor, Griggs gained a reputation for siding with "the little guy" in conflicts between impoverished workers and their employers; he was also an advocate of civil rights for African Americans.

Early life

John William Griggs was born on July 10, 1849, on his family's farm on Ridge Road near Newton, New Jersey to Daniel and Emeline Johnson Griggs. The Griggs family had settled in the state around 1733 and had been a farming family since.

John Griggs attended the Collegiate Institute in Newton before enrolling at Lafayette College in 1864. Though he participated in an unruly protest against the abolition of fraternities on campus (as a member of Theta Delta Chi), Griggs graduated as scheduled in 1868. In his speech, he called for "a restriction in the volume of legislation," especially the growing trend of municipal incorporation, and reforms protecting citizens against injuries from trolley cars and urban sewer pollution. In 1905 he was named the president of the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company of America, and held that office until the company was reorganized as the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) in 1919. He was present during the United States Senate inquiry into the sinking of the Titanic as a representative of the Marconi Company. At RCA he was a director and the company's general counsel until his death.

Personal life and death

Griggs married Carolyn Webster Brandt in 1874 and Laura Elizabeth Price in 1893. He had seven children.

Griggs was a trustee to his alma mater, Lafayette College, from 1894 to 1900.

Griggs died on November 28, 1927, in Paterson, New Jersey. He was buried at Cedar Lawn Cemetery in that city.

Honors

Griggs Avenue in Teaneck, New Jersey, bears his name.

References

  • John W. Griggs, The Political Graveyard

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