Joseph N. Langan

Who was Joseph N. Langan?

Joseph N. Langan was a Mobile, Alabama-area community leader and politician who served four terms on the Mobile City Commission as well as several terms as Mayor of Mobile. All of his terms as Mayor of Mobile were when the title was co-extensive with the presidency of the City Commission. Mobile's largest municipal park now bears his name.

Joseph N. Langan was a longtime Mobile politician. As a state senator, he worked for voting rights and opposed the Dixiecrat movement, and as a Mobile commissioner, he expanded the size of the city and crafted a moderate approach to advancing the equality of African American citizens.

Joseph Nicholas Langan was born in Mobile, Mobile County, on March 11, 1912. His father, David Langan, served as the tax collector for Mobile until 1911. Later, he went into business with his brother, opening a men's clothing store in downtown Mobile. When the store was destroyed by a hurricane in 1916, Langan moved his wife and four children to Semmes, a small community in north Mobile County. After World War I, the Langans moved back to Mobile and opened a grocery store on Espejo Street.

Mobile politician and civil rights figure Joseph N. Joseph Langan.