Richard Henry Fonville (April 30, 1882 – December 13, 1954) was an American politician and pharmacist who served as the 46th Mayor of Houston from 1937 to 1939.[1]
Fonville defeated incumbent Oscar F. Holcombe and took office in 1937.[2] During his term as mayor, the City of Houston Fire Station No. 11 was built. Today, it is the only historic Art Deco-style fire station remaining in Houston and one of the last remaining examples of civic architecture in Houston dating from the early 20th century.[2] In 1938, Fonville announced a roundup of the prostitutes in Houston at the old Jefferson Davis Hospital, the purpose of this act was to check for venereal diseases.[3] On July 30, 1938, he renamed the Houston Municipal Airport as the "Howard Hughes Airport" as part of the welcoming ceremony at the Houston Hughes homecoming.[4]
Fonville married Clara McCormick in 1926.[5] He died at his Eagle Lake hunting lodge of a heart ailment on December 13, 1954.[6] In 1960, Fonville Middle School in Houston was posthumously named after him.[1]
