List of mayors of New York City

The Mayor of New York City is the chief executive of the government of New York City, as stipulated by the Charter of the City of New York. The current Mayor of New York City, the 109th in the sequence of regular mayors, is Bill de Blasio, a Democrat.

During the Dutch colonial period from 1624 to 1664, New Amsterdam was governed by the Director of New Netherland. The office of Mayor of New York was established in 1665 and were appointed by colonial governors until 1777. The year prior, New York was run by Richard Nicolls, the British military governor of the Province of New York. Thomas Willett was the first person to be specifically appointed mayor.

In 1777, during the American Revolution, a Council of Appointment was formed by New York State. In 1821 the New York City Council – then known as the Common Council – began appointing mayors.

Since 1834, mayors have been elected by direct popular vote.

Before 1898, the city included little beyond the island of Manhattan. The 1898 consolidation created the city as it is today with five boroughs: Manhattan, the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island.

The longest-serving mayors have been Fiorello H. La Guardia (1934–1945), Robert F. Wagner, Jr. (1954–1965), Ed Koch (1978–1989), and Michael Bloomberg (2002–2013) each of whom was in office for twelve years (three successive 4-year terms). The shortest terms in office since 1834 have been those of acting mayors: Thomas Coman (five weeks from Monday, November 30, 1868, to Monday, January 4, 1869) and Samuel B. H. Vance (one month from November 30 to December 31, 1874).

No mayor has been female. David Dinkins has been the only non-white mayor. Mayors have come from a variety of ethnic groups and held a variety of religions.

Colonial mayors

Before 1680, mayors served one-year terms. As of 1680, they served two-year terms. Exceptions are noted thus (*). A dagger (†) indicates mayoralties cut short by death in office. [When the same man served more than one continuous term, his name is lightly shaded purely for clarity, but the tints have no other significance.]

No.[1]	Name	Starting year of Office	Ending year of Office
1	Thomas Willett (1st term)	1665	1666
2	Thomas Delavall (1st term)	1666	1667
3	Thomas Willett (2nd term)	1667	1668
4	Cornelius Van Steenwyk (1st term)	1668	1671
5	Thomas Delavall (2nd term)	1671	1672
6	Matthias Nicoll	1672	1673
7	John Lawrence (1st term)	1673	1675
8	William Dervall	1675	1676
9	Nicholas De Mayer	1676	1677
10	Stephanus Van Cortlandt (1st term)	1677	1678
11	Thomas Delavall (3rd term)	1678	1679
12	Francis Rombouts	1679	1680
13	William Dyre	1680	1682
14	Cornelius Van Steenwyk (2nd term)	1682	1684
15	Gabriel Minvielle (*)	1684	1685
16	Nicholas Bayard (*)	1685	1686
17	Stephanus Van Cortlandt (2nd term)	1686	1688
18	Peter Delanoy ^1	1689	1691
19	John Lawrence (2nd term *)	1691	1691
20	Abraham de Peyster	1691	1694
21	Charles Lodwik	1694	1695
22	William Merritt	1695	1698
23	Johannes de Peyster	1698	1699
24	David Provost	1699	1700
25	Isaac De Reimer	1700	1701
26	Thomas Noell	1701	1702
27	Phillip French	1702	1703
28	William Peartree	1703	1707
29	Ebenezer Wilson	1707	1710
30	Jacobus Van Cortlandt (1st term)	1710	1711
31	Caleb Heathcote	1711	1714
32	John Johnstone	1714	1719
33	Jacobus Van Cortlandt (2nd term)	1719	1720
34	Robert Walters	1720	1725
35	Johannes Jansen	1725	1726
36	Robert Lurting †	1726	1735
37	Paul Richard	1735	1739
38	John Cruger †	1739	1744
39	Stephen Bayard	1744	1747
40	Edward Holland †	1747	1757
41	John Cruger, Jr.	1757	1766
42	Whitehead Hicks	1766	1776
43	David Matthews	1776	1783

Note

1. Peter Delanoy was the first and only directly-elected mayor of New York^[2] until 1834. Appointed mayors resumed in the wake of Leisler's Rebellion.

† died in office

Pre-consolidation mayors

After 1820, the mayor was appointed by the city's Common Council. Under the Charter of 1834, mayors were elected annually. After 1849, they served two-year terms.

#	Mayor	Term start	Term end	Terms		Party
44	James Duane	January 1, 1784	1789	5		None
45	Richard Varick	1789	1801	2		Federalist
46	Edward Livingston	1801	1803	2		Democratic-Republican
47	DeWitt Clinton (1st term)	1803	1807	4		Democratic-Republican
48	Marinus Willett	1807	1808	1		Democratic-Republican[3]
49	DeWitt Clinton (2nd term)	1808	1810	2		Democratic-Republican
50	Jacob Radcliff (1st term)	1810	1811	1		Federalist
51	DeWitt Clinton (3rd term)	1811	1815	4		Democratic-Republican
52	John Ferguson	1815	1815	^1⁄2		Democratic-Republican
53	Jacob Radcliff (2nd term)	February 13, 1815	1818	3		Federalist
54	Cadwallader D. Colden	1818	1821	3		Federalist
55	Stephen Allen	1821	1824	3		Federalist
56	William Paulding Jr. (1st term)	1825	1826	1		Democratic-Republican
57	Philip Hone	1826	1827	1		National Republican
58	William Paulding Jr. (2nd term)	1827	1829	2		Democratic-Republican
59	Walter Bowne	1829	1832	3		Democratic
60	Gideon Lee	1833	1834	1		Democratic
61	Cornelius Lawrence	1834	1837	3		Democratic
62	Aaron Clark	1837	1839	2		Whig
63	Isaac L. Varian	1839	1841	2		Democratic
64	Robert H. Morris	1841	1844	3		Democratic
65	James Harper	1844	1845	1		American Republican
66	William F. Havemeyer (1st term)	1845	1846	1		Democratic
67	Andrew H. Mickle	1846	1847	1		Democratic
68	William V. Brady	1847	1848	1		Whig
69	William F. Havemeyer (2nd term)	1848	1849	1		Democratic
70	Caleb S. Woodhull	1849	1851	1		Whig
71	Ambrose Kingsland	1851	1853	1		Whig
72	Jacob A. Westervelt	1853	1855	1		Democratic
73	Fernando Wood (1st term)	1855	1858	2		Democratic
74	Daniel F. Tiemann	1858	1860	1		American
75	Fernando Wood (2nd term)	1860	1862	1		Democratic
76	George Opdyke	1862	1864	1		Republican
77	Charles G. Gunther	1864	1866	1		Democratic
78	John T. Hoffman ^1	1866	November 30, 1868	1		Democratic
79	Abraham O. Hall	January 1, 1869	December 31, 1872	2		Republican
80	William F. Havemeyer ^2(3rd term) †	January 1, 1873	November 30, 1874	^1⁄2		Republican
81	William H. Wickham	January 1, 1875	December 31, 1876	1		Democratic (Reform)
82	Smith Ely Jr.	January 1, 1877	December 31, 1878	1		Democratic
83	Edward Cooper	January 1, 1879	December 31, 1880	1		Democratic (Reform)
84	William R. Grace (1st term)	January 1, 1881	December 31, 1882	1		Democratic (Reform)
85	Franklin Edson	January 1, 1883	December 31, 1884	1		Democratic
86	William R. Grace (2nd term)	January 1, 1885	December 31, 1886	1		None
87	Abram Hewitt	January 1, 1887	December 31, 1888	1		Democratic
88	Hugh J. Grant	January 1, 1889	December 31, 1892	2		Democratic
89	Thomas F. Gilroy	January 1, 1893	December 31, 1894	1		Democratic
90	William L. Strong ^3	January 1, 1895	December 31, 1897	1		Republican

Notes

1. John T. Hoffman resigned after his election as Governor of New York state but before the end of his mayoral term. Thomas Coman, President of the Board of Aldermen, completed Hoffman's term as acting mayor until his elected successor, A. Oakey Hall, took office.
2. William F. Havemeyer died during his last term of office. Samuel B. H. Vance, President of the Board of Aldermen, completed Havemeyer's term as acting mayor until his elected successor, William H. Wickham, took office.
3. William L. Strong served an additional year in office because New York City mayoral elections were changed to be held in odd-numbered years due to the impending consolidation of New York City.

† died in office

Post-consolidation mayors

The 1898–1901 term was for four years. The City Charter was changed to make the mayor's term a two-year one beginning in 1902, but after two such terms was changed back to resume four-year terms in 1906. George B. McClellan, Jr. thus served one two-year term from 1904 to 1905, during which he was elected to a four-year term from 1906 to 1909. See New York City mayoral elections#Terms and term limits (since 1834).

The party of the mayor reflects party registration, as opposed to the party lines run under during the general election.

#[1]	Portrait	Name	Term in office	Length of Service	Party affiliation		Previous office
91		Robert A. Van Wyck (1849–1918; aged 69)	January 1, 1898 – December 31, 1901	4 years		Democratic	None
92		Seth Low ^1 (1850–1916; aged 66)	January 1, 1902 – December 31, 1903	2 years		Republican	11th President of Columbia University (1890–1901)
93		George B. McClellan Jr. (1865–1940; aged 75)	January 1, 1904 – December 31, 1909	6 years		Democratic	U.S. Representative for New York (1895–1903)
94		William Jay Gaynor ^2 † (1849–1913; aged 64)	January 1, 1910 – September 10, 1913	3 years, 253 days		Democratic	Judge to the New York Supreme Court (1893–1909)
95		John P. Mitchel (1879–1918; aged 38)	January 1, 1914 – December 31, 1917	4 years		Republican	None
96		John F. Hylan[4] (1868–1936; aged 67)	January 1, 1918 – December 30, 1925	8 years		Democratic	None
97		Jimmy Walker ^3 (1881–1946; aged 65)	January 1, 1926 – September 1, 1932	6 years, 244 days		Democratic	New York State Senator (1919–1925)
98		John P. O'Brien (1873–1951; aged 78)	January 1, 1933 – December 31, 1933	1 year		Democratic	None
99		Fiorello H. La Guardia (1882–1947; aged 64)	January 1, 1934 – December 31, 1945	12 years		Republican[5]	U.S. Representative for New York (1922–1933)
100		William O'Dwyer ^4 (1890–1964; aged 74)	January 1, 1946 – August 31, 1950	4 years, 243 days		Democratic	Brooklyn District Attorney (1939–1945)
101		Vincent R. Impellitteri ^5 (1900–1987; aged 86)	November 14, 1950 – December 31, 1953	3 years, 48 days		None	President of the NY City Council (1945–1949)
102		Robert F. Wagner Jr. (1910–1991; aged 80)	January 1, 1954 – December 31, 1965	12 years		Democratic	17th Borough President of Manhattan (1950–1953)
103		John Lindsay (1921–2000; aged 79)	January 1, 1966 – December 31, 1973	8 years		Republican	U.S. Representative for New York (1959–1965)
						Democratic
104		Abraham Beame (1906–2001; aged 94)	January 1, 1974 – December 31, 1977	4 years		Democratic	38th New York City Comptroller (1970–1973)
105		Ed Koch (1924–2013; aged 88)	January 1, 1978 – December 31, 1989	12 years		Democratic	U.S. Representative for New York (1973–1977)
106		David Dinkins (born in 1927; aged 89)	January 1, 1990 – December 31, 1993	4 years		Democratic	23rd Borough President of Manhattan (1986–1989)
107		Rudy Giuliani (born in 1944; aged 72)	January 1, 1994 – December 31, 2001	8 years		Republican	United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York (1983–1989)
108		Michael Bloomberg ^6 (born in 1942; aged 74)	January 1, 2002 – December 31, 2013	12 years		Republican	CEO of Bloomberg L.P. (1981–2001)
						None
109		Bill de Blasio (born in 1961; aged 55)	January 1, 2014 – Incumbent	4 years		Democratic	3rd New York City Public Advocate (2010–2013)

Notes

1. Seth Low previously served as Mayor of the City of Brooklyn from 1882 to 1885.
2. William Jay Gaynor died September 10, 1913. Ardolph L. Kline, the unelected President of the Board of Aldermen, succeeded as acting mayor upon William Gaynor's death, but then sought re-election as an alderman (successfully) rather than election as mayor. Kline has thus been the only mayor since 1834 never to win a city-wide election (having been appointed Vice President of the Board of Aldermen by his colleagues and then succeeding to the presidency mid-term, rather than winning it by popular election at large).
3. James J. "Jimmy" Walker resigned September 1, 1932 and went to Europe, amid allegations of corruption in his administration. Joseph V. McKee, as President of the Board of Aldermen, became acting mayor in Walker's place, but was then defeated in a special election by John P. O'Brien.
4. William O'Dwyer resigned August 31, 1950, during a police corruption scandal, after which he was appointed Ambassador to Mexico by President Harry S. Truman.
5. Vincent R. Impellitteri, President of the New York City Council, became acting mayor when O'Dwyer resigned on August 31, 1950, and was then elected to the office in a special election held on November 7, 1950. He was inaugurated on November 14.
6. Michael R. Bloomberg was a Democrat before running for mayor.

† died in office

See also

• Election results for Mayor of New York
• History of New York City
• Mayors of the City of Brooklyn (1834–98)

References

1. "The Green Book: Mayors of the City of New York" on the official NYC website. When a former mayor serves again after a break in office, a new number is assigned to his resumed service. However, the five acting mayoralties are unnumbered.
2. Burrows, Edwin G. & Wallace, Mike (1999), Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898, New York: Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-195-11634-8 pp.99–100
3. John Caldwell; Oswaldo Rodriguez Roque; Dale T. Johnson (March 1, 1994). American Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Vol. 1. Metropolitan Museum of Art. p. p.256.
4. "Hylan And Enright Out With Pensions; Last-Hour Shifts In Police Department; Walker Fills Important City Posts - Collins Mayor for a Day - Leach is the Active Head of the Police Force for the Last Day of 1925 - Hylan to Get $4,205 A Year - Retirement Voted by Board of Estimate, He Quits to Assure Pension - Enright to Draw $5,000 - Approval of His Retirement as Commissioner One of Hylan's Last Official Acts". New York Times. December 31, 1925. p. 1. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
5. "List of Candidates Who Will Be on Ballots in Municipal Election Nov. 7". New York Times. November 5, 1933. p. N2. Retrieved 19 August 2016.

External links

• Media related to Mayors of New York City at Wikimedia Commons