August 23, 1920: Former Mayor Hugo picked to replace Mayor Magney

On this day in Duluth in 1920, former Duluth mayor Trevanion Hugo was appointed as the city’s chief executive to replace outgoing mayor Clarence R. Magney. Magney, a lawyer, had an opportunity to become a district court judge, so he resigned the mayorship to run for that office. Magney not only won the election but went on to serve as one of the most well-respected  judges in Minnesota history. Hugo, a native of Cornwall, England, had served as Duluth’s mayor from 1900 to 1904. He did not want to be mayor in 1902, but his supporters began a petition drive that changed his mind. Both of his election victories were extremely narrow, with just six- and eight-vote margins over Henry “Typhoid” Truelsen, himself a former mayor. Near the end of serving out Magney’s term 1921, Hugo chose not to run for office. That opened the door for Magney’s good friend and park enthusiast Samuel Frisby Snively, who not only won the mayoral election but went on to serve five terms, becoming Duluth’s longest-serving mayor in the process. Hugo died suddenly in December, 1923. Read more about Hugo here.

Trevanion Hugo. (Duluth Public Library)