John P. Kirk

Who was John P. Kirk?

John Patrick Kirk was a Michigan politician in the early 1900s.

He was born on September 20, 1867, the son of Bernard Kirk and Ann Kirk, immigrants from Ireland. He married Mary Shaff on June 20, 1898. Kirk graduated from the University of Michigan Law School in 1888 and became a lawyer, was Washtenaw County prosecuting attorney from 1897 to 1900. He was commissioned as a major in the Army during the Spanish-American War; his name is inscribed on Ypsilanti's Spanish-American War Memorial, as the highest-ranking officer. Kirk subsequently became a general.

He was a member of Michigan House of Representatives from Washtenaw County's 2nd district from 1903 to 1904, when he became an unsuccessful candidate for the United States House of Representatives for Michigan's 2nd congressional district in the 1904 general elections. He was elected mayor of Ypsilanti in 1908, defeating George D. Lockwood, and served from 1908-1910. He was nominated as the Democratic candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Michigan in 1916, but lost. He was an unsuccessful candidate for circuit judge in Michigan 22nd Circuit in 1917.