The Tragic End of a Visionary
Captain R. W. De Lion, a prominent figure in regional shipping and a former Port Townsend mayor, takes his own life in Seattle after a period of declining health and financial strain.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Captain R. W. De Lion, consul of Chile at Tacoma, ex-mayor of Port Townsend, and promoter of the largest floating dry dock in the world located at Quartermaster Harbor, took his own life yesterday in Seattle by shooting himself in the head. The deed was done while he was suffering from temporary insanity consequent upon financial difficulties and a disordered physical condition. Capt. De Lion had recently been acquitted of a charge of insanity after a sensational trial before Judge Ballinger in Port Townsend. He had been living with his family on Joy Street. His mental health had been declining since a serious surgery a year prior. He leaves behind a wife and seven children.
“He succeeded in having the plans accepted in Port Townsend and the dock was built at Port Hadlock, being the largest floating dry dock in the world.”
The pressures of high-stakes maritime infrastructure and property speculation are threads that have defined Seattle’s development from the late 19th century through today’s rapid real-estate boom. The tragic death of a public figure like De Lion highlights the precarious nature of early civic ambition in a region built on volatile industrial fortunes.
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