page_title: John Cavanagh (hatter)
section_title: Cavanagh Hats
hierarchical_section_title: John Cavanagh (hatter) / Cavanagh Hats
caption_attribution_description: English: President Kennedy and President Eisenhower meet at Camp David, Maryland, April 1961
context_page_description: John J. Cavanagh was an American gentleman's hatter based in New York City. He was a Democratic mayor of South Norwalk and of Norwalk, Connecticut. He was a leader in both styling and manufacturing of hats for fifty years.
context_section_description: Al Webb (b. February 15, 1920), who joined the company after the Second World War, was by 1961 Vice President of Sales for the Hat Corporation of America. Like J. Garvan Cavanagh, he was a close friend of John F. Kennedy, whose dislike of wearing hats had led to a downturn in hat sales. At a 1961 PT reunion in Washington, DC, Webb accused his friend of having ruined the American hat industry. In response, Kennedy began carrying a hat with the Cavanagh Hats label clearly visible. The first incidence of this was when Kennedy met with Dwight D. Eisenhower on April 22, 1961, at Camp David.
caption: John F. Kennedy meeting with Eisenhower, April 22, 1961
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