Carl West Rich

Carl West Rich (September 12, 1898 – June 26, 1972) was an American lawyer, jurist, and Republican politician from Ohio who served three nonconsecutive terms as mayor of Cincinnati and one term as a United States Representative. Noted for his repeated returns to the mayoralty, he is the only mayor of Cincinnati to go back to that office two times, serving from 1947 to 1948, 1951 to 1953, and 1955 to 1957, and later represented Ohio in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1963 to 1965.

Rich was born in Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio, on September 12, 1898. He was educated in the Cincinnati public schools and attended Walnut Hills High School, one of the city’s leading secondary schools. He went on to the University of Cincinnati College of Liberal Arts, where he received an A.B. degree in 1922. Continuing his studies at the same institution, he enrolled in the University of Cincinnati College of Law and earned an LL.B. in 1924, preparing for a career in the legal profession and public service in his native city.

In 1924 Rich was admitted to the bar and commenced the practice of law in Cincinnati. Alongside his private practice, he joined the faculty of the University of Cincinnati as an instructor, contributing to the training of future lawyers. He entered municipal service as assistant city solicitor and assistant prosecutor of Cincinnati, positions he held from 1925 to 1929. Building on this early prosecutorial experience, he later served three terms as prosecuting attorney of Hamilton County, Ohio, from 1938 to 1947, gaining a reputation as a capable and experienced public lawyer.

Rich’s prominence in local government grew through his long service on the Cincinnati city council, where he served for nine years. From this platform he was selected to serve as mayor, ultimately holding the office for three separate terms. He first served as mayor from 1947 to 1948, returned to the office from 1951 to 1953, and again from 1955 to 1957. In total he served as mayor from 1947 into the mid‑1950s, and his repeated elections made him the only mayor of Cincinnati to reclaim the office twice. His municipal leadership coincided with the post–World War II period, a time of urban growth and adjustment, during which he played a central role in the city’s governance and administration.

In addition to his executive and legislative roles in city and county government, Rich also served in the judiciary. He was a judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Hamilton County, Ohio, presiding over a broad range of civil and criminal matters in one of the state’s principal trial courts. His career extended beyond law and politics into professional sports management; he served as president and chairman of the board of the Cincinnati Royals professional basketball team, reflecting his engagement with civic and cultural life in Cincinnati.

Rich advanced to national office when he was elected as a Republican to the Eighty-eighth Congress, serving as a Representative from Ohio in the United States House of Representatives from January 3, 1963, to January 3, 1965. During this single term in Congress, he participated in the legislative process at a time of significant national change, representing the interests of his Ohio constituents in debates over domestic policy and national affairs. A member of the Republican Party, he contributed to the work of the House during this critical period in American history. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1964 to the Eighty-ninth Congress, which ended his federal legislative service after one term.

Following his departure from Congress, Rich resumed the practice of law in Cincinnati, returning to the profession with which he had begun his public career. He remained a respected figure in local legal and political circles until his death. Carl West Rich died in Cincinnati on June 26, 1972, and was interred in Spring Grove Cemetery, one of the city’s historic burial grounds.