Daniel Kennedy Knott
Encyclopedia
- Dan Knott redirects here. For the school of the same name, see Dan Knott Junior HighDan Knott Junior HighDan Knott Junior High is a middle school in Edmonton, Albertain the Knottwood community. The school is highly respected by the city of Edmonton for its focus on academics and learning...
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Daniel Kennedy Knott (July 1, 1879 – November 26, 1959) was a labour activist and politician in Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and a mayor of Edmonton
Edmonton
Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...
.
Early life
Dan Knott was born in Collingwood, OntarioCollingwood, Ontario
Collingwood is a town in Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada. Geographically, it is situated on Nottawasaga Bay at the southern point of Georgian Bay.-History:...
on July 1, 1879 to Hugh Knott and Margaret Wright. He apprenticed as a printer and worked for the Buffalo Express before moving to Alberta in 1905 to join his father and brother, who had come west two years earlier. He joined the Edmonton Bulletin
Edmonton Bulletin
The Edmonton Bulletin was a newspaper in Edmonton, Alberta published from 1880 until January 20, 1951. It was founded by Frank Oliver, a politician and future minister in the Canadian Government....
in 1906, and later worked for the Calgary Herald
Calgary Herald
The Calgary Herald is a daily newspaper published in the Canadian city of Calgary, Alberta.- History :The paper was first published on August 31, 1883 by Andrew Armour and Thomas Braden as The Calgary Herald, Mining and Ranche Advocate and General Advertiser. It started as a weekly paper with only...
. In 1909 he became a linotype
Linotype machine
The Linotype typesetting machine is a "line casting" machine used in printing. The name of the machine comes from the fact that it produces an entire line of metal type at once, hence a line-o'-type, a significant improvement over manual typesetting....
operator for the Edmonton Journal
Edmonton Journal
The Edmonton Journal is a daily newspaper in Edmonton, Alberta. It is part of the Postmedia Network.-History:The Journal was founded in 1903 by three local businessmen — John Macpherson, Arthur Moore and J.W. Cunningham — as a rival to Alberta's first newspaper, the 23-year-old...
; he would hold that position until his retirement.
He married Mina Matheson in 1907; the couple would have two sons.
Labour Activism
In 1910, Knott became president of the local typographical union. He rose through the ranks of organized labour and was a member of the Edmonton Trades & Labour Council's executive committee and strike committee (along with future municipal colleagues Alfred Farmilo and Elmer Ernest RoperElmer Ernest Roper
Elmer Ernest Roper was a politician in Alberta, Canada. He served as leader of the Alberta Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, the mayor of Edmonton, and a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. He was also a candidate for the Canadian House of Commons.-Early life:Roper was born in...
) by the time of the 1919 city-wide strike (held in sympathy with the Winnipeg General Strike of 1919
Winnipeg General Strike of 1919
The Winnipeg General Strike of 1919 was one of the most influential strikes in Canadian history, and became the platform for future labour reforms....
). He was a member of labour's moderate wing, which favoured negotiating with then-mayor Joseph Clarke
Joseph Clarke
Joseph Andrew Clarke was a Canadian politician and lawyer. He served twice as mayor of Edmonton, Alberta, was a candidate for election to the Canadian House of Commons and the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, and was a member of the Yukon Territorial Council .-Early life:Clarke was born in...
for the provision of vital services; in this way, Clarke was able to resist calls to bring in strike breakers.
In 1922, Knott was a co-founder of an iteration of the Canadian Labour Party
Canadian Labour Party
The Canadian Labour Party was an early, unsuccessful attempt at creating a national labour party in Canada. Although it ran candidates in the federal elections of 1917, 1921, 1925 and 1926, it never succeeded in its goal of providing a national forum for the Canadian labour movement...
, with which he remained active until its 1935 merger with the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation was a Canadian political party founded in 1932 in Calgary, Alberta, by a number of socialist, farm, co-operative and labour groups, and the League for Social Reconstruction...
.
Elected Politics
In the aftermath of the 1919 strike, organized labour sought an increased say in Edmonton's governance. As part of this trend, Knott ran for a position as alderman on Edmonton City CouncilEdmonton City Council
The Edmonton City Council is the governing body of the City of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.Members represent wards throughout the city, and are known as councillors. Until 2010, Edmonton was divided in six wards with two councillors representing citizens in each ward...
during the 1920 election
Edmonton municipal election, 1920
The 1920 municipal election was held December 13, 1920 to elect a mayor and six aldermen to sit on Edmonton City Council and three trustees to sit on the public school board. J Cormack, Joseph Gariépy, and J J Murray were acclaimed to two year terms on the separate school board...
. He finished tenth of sixteen candidates and was not elected, but was more successful during the 1922 election
Edmonton municipal election, 1922
The 1922 municipal election was held December 11, 1922 to elect a mayor and six aldermen to sit on Edmonton City Council and three trustees to sit on the public school board...
, when he finished sixth of sixteen and became one of six candidates elected. He was re-elected in 1924 election
Edmonton municipal election, 1924
The 1924 municipal election was held December 8, 1924 to elect a mayor and five aldermen to sit on Edmonton City Council and three trustees to sit on each of the public and separate school boards....
.
During the 1926 election
Edmonton municipal election, 1926
The 1926 municipal election was held December 13, 1926 to elect a mayor and six aldermen to sit on Edmonton City Council and three trustees to sit on the public school board...
, Knott made his first bid for mayor, seeking to take advantage of Kenny Blatchford's retirement from municipal politics. However, he was defeated in a six person race by Ambrose Bury. He was one of three candidates to oppose Bury's re-election bid in the 1927 election
Edmonton municipal election, 1927
The 1927 municipal election was held December 12, 1927 to elect a mayor and five aldermen to sit on Edmonton City Council and four trustees to sit on each of the public and separate school boards...
, but finished second as Bury claimed more than half the vote.
Knott returned to office as an alderman after the 1929 election
Edmonton municipal election, 1929
The 1929 municipal election was held December 9, 1929 to elect a mayor and five aldermen to sit on Edmonton City Council and four trustees to sit on the public school board...
, in which he finished fourth of fifteen candidates, but elected to run for mayor again rather than seek re-election at the expiration of his two year term. As the lone challenger to incumbent James McCrie Douglas
James McCrie Douglas
James McCrie Douglas was a politician in Alberta, Canada, a mayor of Edmonton, and a member of the Canadian House of Commons.-Early life:...
, Knott won fifty-eight percent of the vote and was elected. He was re-elected during the 1931
Edmonton municipal election, 1931
The 1931 municipal election was held November 11, 1931 to elect a mayor and five aldermen to sit on Edmonton City Council and four trustees to sit on the public school board .There were ten aldermen on city council, but five of the positions were already filled: James Collisson, Charles Gibbs,...
, 1932
Edmonton municipal election, 1932
The 1932 municipal election was held November 9, 1932 to elect a mayor and five aldermen to sit on Edmonton City Council and three trustees to sit on the public school board ....
, and 1933
Edmonton municipal election, 1933
The 1933 Edmonton municipal election was held November 8, 1933 to elect a mayor and five aldermen to sit on City Council and four trustees to sit on each of the public and separate school boards....
elections.
As mayor, Knott was a disappointment to many of the labour activists who had helped elect him. In an effort to maintain the city's credit rating and to avoid raising property taxes, he abandoned many of the promises that had brought him to office, especially in the area of public sector job creation. In 1932, he acceded to Premier John Brownlee
John Edward Brownlee
John Edward Brownlee was the fifth Premier of Alberta, Canada, serving from 1925 until 1934. Born in Port Ryerse, Ontario, he studied history and political science at the University of Toronto's Victoria College before moving west to Calgary to become a lawyer...
's request that a planned hunger march be suppressed by city police.
While several labour activists, notably alderman Margaret Crang, denounced Knott as a turncoat, he was able to implement his agenda with the combined support of those who remained loyal to him and moderates to his political right. However, by the 1934 election
Edmonton municipal election, 1934
The 1934 municipal election was held November 14, 1934 to elect a mayor and six aldermen to sit on Edmonton City Council and three trustees to sit on each of the public and separate school boards....
much of his support was exhausted and he finished third of five candidates, behind his old negotiating partner Joseph Clarke
Joseph Clarke
Joseph Andrew Clarke was a Canadian politician and lawyer. He served twice as mayor of Edmonton, Alberta, was a candidate for election to the Canadian House of Commons and the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, and was a member of the Yukon Territorial Council .-Early life:Clarke was born in...
and alderman James Ogilvie.
He attempted to return to council as an alderman in the 1936 election
Edmonton municipal election, 1936
The 1936 municipal election was held November 12, 1936 to elect a mayor and five aldermen to sit on Edmonton City Council and three trustees to sit on the public school board . Voters also rejected a proposal to extend the mayor's term to two years...
, but was soundly defeated, finishing thirteenth of sixteen candidates. He was elected in 1937
Edmonton municipal election, 1937
The 1937 municipal election was held November 10, 1937 to elect a mayor and six aldermen to sit on Edmonton City Council and five trustees to sit on the public school board...
, and re-elected in the 1939 election
Edmonton municipal election, 1939
The 1939 municipal election was held November 8, 1939 to elect a mayor and five aldermen to sit on Edmonton City Council. Elections for school trustees were not held, as candidates for both the public and separate boards were acclaimed....
. He was defeated in the 1941 election
Edmonton municipal election, 1941
The 1941 municipal election was held November 12, 1941 to elect a mayor and five aldermen to sit on Edmonton City Council and four trustees to sit on the public school board .There were ten aldermen on city council, but five of the positions were already filled: James...
, in what would be his final bid for elected office.
Personal life, death, and legacy
Dan Knott was a member of the Masonic OrderFreemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
and the local hospital and library boards. He was an avid bowler
Bowling
Bowling Bowling Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule...
, and led the team that swept the 1911 American Bowling Congress in Spokane
Spokane
Spokane is a city in the U.S. state of Washington.Spokane may also refer to:*Spokane *Spokane River*Spokane, Missouri*Spokane Valley, Washington*Spokane County, Washington*Spokane-Coeur d'Alene-Paloos War*Spokane * USS Spokane...
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Daniel Kennedy Knott died November 26, 1959. Dan Knott Junior High School
Dan Knott Junior High
Dan Knott Junior High is a middle school in Edmonton, Albertain the Knottwood community. The school is highly respected by the city of Edmonton for its focus on academics and learning...
is named in his honour.