James Woffendale Inches

James W. Inches (October 30, 1860 – March 29, 1952) was a physician, businessman, Michigan political figure, big game hunter and aviation enthusiast.

Early life James Woffendale Inches was born in Fredericton, New Brunswick, on October 30, 1860, the son of Andrew and Margaret Inches. His father was a native of Perthshire, Scotland Finding the life of a general practitioner too sedate, Inches eventually retired from active practice. On one such inspection he was just eight minutes ahead of enemy troops when they broke through the Italian front.

Politics Inches' entry into politics began with his election as mayor of St. Clair, Michigan in 1899. He ended up serving for five consecutive terms. He felt masks were useless in controlling the pandemic and felt limiting public events was not warranted, but ultimately he enforced the statewide closure bans. During his time in this office Inches oversaw the relocation of the police department to new headquarters and dealt with the increase crime associated with being a border city during Prohibition.

When Mayor Couzens was appointed to the U.S. Senate in 1923, Inches attempted a bid for the office of the mayor of Detroit.

After his Detroit mayoral defeat, Inches retired from public life.

He had his nose cut off in a street railway accident between St. Clair and Detroit, but successfully had it reattached. He lost all of his luggage and hunting trophies, but was able to save several thousand feet of film from his expedition. On another occasion he missed boarding a London to Paris flight by barely five minutes.