Nye was born in Hortonville, Wisconsin in 1859. He attended local schools and the University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh and spent several years after college working as a school principal. In 1881, he left for Chicago, Illinois to study pharmacy. Instead of returning home to Wisconsin after finishing, he decided to relocate to Minneapolis and began a drug business there. He also became active in local Republican politics, winning election as Minneapolis comptroller in 1892 to 1894 and also serving on the park board.[1] In 1905, Nye was a leading member of the Minneapolis Public Affairs Committee, a non-governmental organization dedicated to the business and municipal affairs of the city.[2]
He was elected mayor in 1912, defeating Democrat Charles Gould and SocialistThomas Van Lear.[3] During his term as mayor, Nye was involved in a controversy over the exhibition of the film The Birth of a Nation in Minneapolis. Nye opposed the showing of the film and stated he would put a stop to it, but a district court judge issued an injunction ordering Nye not to interfere. When that injunction was reversed just a week later, screenings of the film were stopped out of fear Nye would intervene. Nye eventually accepted a proposal to form a public censorship committee to review the film and to abide by their decision. When the committee met and a majority approved the film, Nye stood aside and let the film be shown.[4]
Nye was defeated by Van Lear in the 1916 mayoral election, mainly due to a financial scandal involving financing of the city's streetcar system and Nye's supplying of police protection to scab workers during a general Teamsters strike.[5]
Nye died at his home in Minneapolis on March 4, 1926.[6] He is buried at Lakewood Cemetery in Minneapolis.
