Mayor of Boston
The Mayor of Boston is the head of the municipal government in Boston, Massachusetts. Boston has a mayor-council system of government. The Mayor’s Office is in Boston City Hall, in Government Center. There was no Mayor of Boston until 1822 because up to that point Boston was still incorporated as a town. (In Massachusetts, a town is typically governed by a town meeting.) The current mayor is Martin J. "Marty" Walsh.
Since 1952, the mayoral term has been four years.[1] There are no term limits.
Boston mayoral elections, like all municipal elections in Boston, are nonpartisan. The two candidates with the highest number of votes in the preliminary election run against each other on the general election ballot. However, every mayor since 1930, and all but one mayor since 1902, has been known to be a Democrat.
List
# | Mayor | Term start | Term end | Terms | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | John Phillips | May 1, 1822 | May 1, 1823 | 1 | Federalist | |
2 | Josiah Quincy III | May 1, 1823 | January 5, 1829 | 1 | Federalist | |
3 | Harrison G. Otis | January 5, 1829 | January 2, 1832 | 3 | Federalist | |
4 | Charles Wells | January 2, 1832 | January 6, 1834 | 2 | Whig | |
5 | Theodore Lyman | January 6, 1834 | January 4, 1836 | 2 | Democratic | |
6 | Samuel T. Armstrong | January 4, 1836 | January 1, 1837 | 1 | Whig | |
7 | Samuel A. Eliot | January 1, 1837 | January 6, 1840 | 3 | Whig | |
8 | Jonathan Chapman | January 6, 1840 | January 2, 1843 | 3 | Whig | |
9 | Martin Brimmer | January 2, 1843 | January 6, 1845 | 2 | Whig | |
10 | Thomas A. Davis † | February 27, 1845 | November 22, 1845 | Partial | Native American | |
11 | Josiah Quincy, Jr. | December 11, 1845 | January 1, 1849 | 3 1⁄2 | Whig | |
12 | John P. Bigelow | January 1, 1849 | January 5, 1852 | 3 | Whig | |
13 | Benjamin Seaver | January 5, 1852 | January 2, 1854 | 2 | Whig | |
14 | Jerome V. C. Smith | January 2, 1854 | January 7, 1856 | 2 | American | |
15 | Alexander H. Rice | January 7, 1856 | January 4, 1858 | 2 | Republican | |
16 | Frederic W. Lincoln, Jr. | January 4, 1858 | January 7, 1861 | 3 | Republican | |
17 | Joseph Wightman | January 7, 1861 | January 5, 1863 | 2 | Democratic | |
(16) | Frederic W. Lincoln, Jr. | January 5, 1863 | January 7, 1867 | 4 | Republican | |
18 | Otis Norcross | January 7, 1867 | January 6, 1868 | 1 | Republican | |
19 | Nathaniel B. Shurtleff | January 6, 1868 | January 2, 1871 | 3 | Democratic | |
20 | William Gaston | January 2, 1871 | January 6, 1873 | 2 | Democratic | |
21 | Henry L. Pierce | January 6, 1873 | November 29, 1873 | 1⁄2 | None | |
22 | Samuel C. Cobb | January 5, 1874 | January 1, 1877 | 3 | None | |
23 | Frederick O. Prince | January 1, 1877 | January 7, 1878 | 1 | Democratic | |
(21) | Henry L. Pierce | January 7, 1878 | January 6, 1879 | 1 | Republican | |
(23) | Frederick O. Prince | January 6, 1879 | January 2, 1882 | 3 | Democratic | |
24 | Samuel A. Green | January 2, 1882 | January 1, 1883 | 1 | Republican | |
25 | Albert Palmer | January 1, 1883 | January 7, 1884 | 1 | Democratic | |
26 | Augustus P. Martin | January 7, 1884 | January 5, 1885 | 1 | Republican | |
27 | Hugh O'Brien | January 5, 1885 | January 7, 1889 | 4 | Democratic | |
28 | Thomas N. Hart | January 7, 1889 | December 31, 1890 | 1 | Republican | |
29 | Nathan Matthews, Jr. | January 1, 1891 | December 31, 1894 | 3 | Democratic | |
30 | Edwin Upton Curtis | January 1, 1895 | December 31, 1895 | 1⁄2 | Republican | |
31 | Josiah Quincy | January 1, 1896 | December 31, 1899 | 3 | Democratic | |
(28) | Thomas N. Hart | January 1, 1900 | January 7, 1902 | 2 | Republican | |
32 | Patrick Collins † | January 7, 1902 | September 13, 1905 | 2 1⁄2 | Democratic | |
33 | John F. Fitzgerald | January 5, 1906 | January 1, 1908 | 2 | Democratic | |
34 | George A. Hibbard | January 1, 1908 | January 5, 1910 | 2 | Republican | |
(33) | John F. Fitzgerald | January 5, 1910 | January 1, 1914 | 1 | Democratic | |
35 | James M. Curley | January 1, 1914 | January 5, 1918 | 1 | Democratic | |
36 | Andrew J. Peters | January 5, 1918 | January 1, 1922 | 1 | Democratic | |
(35) | James M. Curley | January 1, 1922 | January 5, 1926 | 1 | Democratic | |
37 | Malcolm Nichols | January 5, 1926 | January 1, 1930 | 2 | Republican | |
(35) | James M. Curley | January 1, 1930 | January 5, 1934 | 1 | Democratic | |
38 | Frederick Mansfield | January 5, 1934 | January 1, 1938 | 1 | Democratic | |
39 | Maurice J. Tobin | January 1, 1938 | January 3, 1945 | 1 1⁄2 | Democratic | |
(35) | James M. Curley | January 7, 1946 | January 5, 1950 | 1 | Democratic | |
40 | John B. Hynes | January 5, 1950 | January 2, 1960 | 3 | Democratic | |
41 | John F. Collins | January 2, 1960 | January 5, 1968 | 2 | Democratic | |
42 | Kevin White | January 5, 1968 | January 2, 1984 | 4 | Democratic | |
43 | Raymond Flynn | January 2, 1984 | July 12, 1993 | 2 1⁄2 | Democratic | |
44 | Thomas Menino | July 12, 1993 | January 6, 2014 | 5 1⁄2 | Democratic | |
45 | Martin Walsh | January 6, 2014 | Incumbent | Incumbent | Democratic |
- Notes
† Deceased/murdered in office.
Living former mayors
Currently, there is one living former mayor of Boston, Raymond Flynn. The most recent mayor to die was Tom Menino, on October 30, 2014.
Name | Mayoral term | Date of birth |
---|---|---|
Raymond L. Flynn | 1984–1993 | July 22, 1939 |
See also
- Past Members of the Boston City Council
- Mayors of Charlestown, Massachusetts
- Mayors of Roxbury, Massachusetts
- Timeline of Boston
References
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mayors of Boston. |