William Penn Mott Jr.

William Penn Mott Jr.
12th Director of the National Park Service
In office
May 17, 1985 – April 16, 1989
PresidentRonald Reagan
Preceded byRussell E. Dickenson
Succeeded byJames M. Ridenour
Personal details
Born(1909-10-19)October 19, 1909
New York City, New York, U.S.
DiedSeptember 21, 1992(1992-09-21) (aged 82)
Orinda, California, U.S.
Political partyRepublican[1]
SpouseRuth Barnes[2]
Alma mater

William Penn Mott Jr. (October 19, 1909 – September 21, 1992),[3] was a trained landscape architect who rose to direct the California Department of Parks and Recreation and U.S. National Park Service. He earned bachelor and master degrees from Michigan State University and University of California, respectively. After graduation, he worked for the San Francisco office of the National Park Service (NPS) as a landscape architect from 1933 to 1940. He then became director of the Oakland, California Zoo. In 1962, he was hired as director of the East Bay Regional Park District until 1967. California Governor Ronald Reagan named Mott as the Director of the California Park Service in 1967, where he remained until 1985, when President Reagan named him to head the U.S. National Park Service (NPS). Mott served at the Federal level until President George H. W. Bush nominated a replacement for him in 1989. He continued to work for the NPS as a consultant until his death in 1992. His last major project was to transition the Presidio in San Francisco into a national park.

  1. ^ "Reagan, Ronald: Gubernatorial Papers, 1966-74: Press Unit" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 13, 2019. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference NYT-Obit was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "William Penn Mott / Cornelius Amory Pugsley State Medal Award, 1972 / Cornelius Amory Pugsley State Medal Award, 1982". American Academy for Park and Recreation Administration. Archived from the original on November 4, 2008. Retrieved July 7, 2009.