Charles Wesley Wright, Jr. (August 17, 1919 – December 27, 2016) was an American politician, former advertising executive, publisher, and Christmas tree farmer who served as the mayor of Topeka, Kansas, from 1965 until 1969.
[1] Wright was mayor on June 8, 1966, when an F5 tornado devastated Topeka, killing 16 people, left 4,500 residents homeless, and caused an estimated $100 million in property damage.
[1] He enlisted in the United States Navy in 1941 following the country's entry into World War II and trained at the Naval Station Great Lakes in Illinois.
[3] He retired with the rank of Captain after the war and married his wife, the former Alice Clare Brownfield, at a ceremony on September 2, 1944, in Washington, D.C.[3] The couple had three children, Charles, Douglas and Catherine.
[1] He moved back to Kansas to partner with his cousin, Duane Patterson, to form the Patterson-Wright Advertising Agency; their partnership ended in 1960.
To correct this, and scientifically justify the cost of any street resurfacing projects to officials, Wright ordered new $300 densometers to measure the strength of the surface instead.
"[2] On June 8, 1966, a much larger natural disaster struck Topeka when an F5 tornado cut a swath across the city and destroyed much of Washburn University.
[1][2] 16 people were killed by the June 1966 tornado, which also left approximately 4,500 residents homeless and caused an estimated $100 million in damage.
[1] He also created the first Topeka chapter of the Better Business Bureau in the aftermath of the 1966 tornado in response to a number of scams which preyed on the victims of the disaster.