R. Cowles Taylor

Robert Cowles Taylor (August 12, 1893 – December 20, 1955)[1] was the mayor of Newport News, Virginia from 1942 to 1955.[2] As such, he was mayor of the city during World War II, at a time when the city's ports were used to send American troops to Europe to fight in the war. As was seen during World War I, this activity put a tremendous strain on the city's infrastructure, and Taylor was instrumental in seeing that the city continued to function despite the effort. At one point, several tens of thousand of homes, rooms and hotels would come under rent control imposed by Taylor. Taylor also held the dubious honor of being the only casualty of the celebrations that followed the end of the war - his car was stolen during a meeting of the Rotary Club.

He also served on the committee that planned the city's Golden Anniversary year in 1946 to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of Newport News's incorporation as a city.