Charles S. Keith

Charles Smith Keith (January 28, 1873 – October 9, 1945) was a coal and lumber businessman from Kansas City, Missouri. He served as mayor of Kansas City from January to April 1940.

Early life Charles Smith Keith was born on January 28, 1873, in Kansas City, Missouri, to Richard H. Keith. His father was a colonel of the Confederate States Army in the Civil War and founder of the Central Coal and Coke Company. He attended public schools in Kansas City. He attended St. Mary's College in St. Marys, Kansas and graduated from Fordham University in Fordham, New York.

Career In 1891, Keith started working at the Central Coal and Coke Company and as a clerk at the auditor's office in Kansas City. After nine months in the auditor's office, Keith studied mining and practicing engineering in Kansas.

Keith was also a bank director and street car director. Towards the end of his life, Keith was a director of the Kansas City Power & Light Company and the Lumbermen's Underwriting Alliance. He was chairman of the board of T. H. Mastin & Co.

Keith died on October 9, 1945, at St. Luke's Hospital in Kansas City. He was buried at Mount Washington Cemetery in Independence.