List of mayors of Pittsburgh Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Mayor of Pittsburgh
Flag of the mayor of Pittsburgh
City of Pittsburgh coat of arms
Incumbent Ed Gainey since January 3, 2022
Style	"The Honorable"
Term length	4 years
Inaugural holder	Ebenezer Denny
Formation	1816
Salary	$113,942 (2020)
Website	Office of the Mayor

The mayor of Pittsburgh is the main leader of the city government in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This job is set out in the city's official rules, called the Charter of the City of Pittsburgh.

Before Pittsburgh became a city in 1816, it was a smaller area called a "borough." Back then, the local council chose a "chief burgess" to lead them. When Pittsburgh became a city, the first seven mayors were chosen in a similar way by the city council.

It wasn't until the 1830s that people in Pittsburgh started voting directly for their mayor. Samuel Pettigrew was the last mayor chosen by the council and the first one elected by a public vote.

For a short time, from 1901 to 1903, the state government took control of Pittsburgh. They appointed leaders called "recorders" who answered only to the state. This happened because of problems with the previous mayor. Since 1903, all mayors have been chosen by the people through elections. As of January 2022, the current mayor is Ed Gainey, who is a Democrat.

Mayors of Pittsburgh (since 1816)

This table lists all the people who have served as mayor of Pittsburgh since 1816. You can see their names, when they served, and their political party.

No.	Mayor	Term	Party	Notes
1	Ebenezer Denny #	1816–1817	Federalist	First mayor after Pittsburgh became a city. He resigned because of health issues. He was also a veteran of the American Revolutionary War.
2	John Darragh	1817–1825	Federalist	Chosen by the City Council. He used to be the president of the Bank of Pittsburgh.
3	John M. Snowden	1825–1828	Democratic-Republican, Jacksonian	Chosen by the City Council. He was also a bank president and county treasurer.
4	Magnus Miller Murray	1828–1830	Jacksonian, Democrat	Chosen by the City Council.
5	Matthew B. Lowrie	1830–1831	Anti-Masonic	Chosen by the City Council. His brother was a U.S. Senator.
6	Magnus Miller Murray	1831–1832	Democrat	Chosen by the City Council.
7	Samuel Pettigrew	1832–1836	Democrat	Chosen by City Council, then won the first public mayoral election.
			Jackson and Clay (1834–35)
			Democratic and Workingmen's (1835–36)
8	Dr. Jonas R. McClintock	1836–1839	Democrat (1836–37)	Elected mayor at only 28 years old. He was the first mayor chosen by a general election.
			City (1837–38)
			City Improvement (1838–39)
9	William Little	1839–1840	Independent
10	William W. Irwin	1840–1841	Whig (and Anti-Masonic)	Later became a member of Congress.
11	James Thomson	1841–1842	Whig
12	Alexander Hay	1842–1845	Whig (1842–43)	Served as a commander in the Mexican War after his time as mayor.
			Volunteer (1843–44)
			Independent/Volunteer (1844–45)
13	William J. Howard	1845–1846	Whig	Was a long-time president of the "Guardians of the Poor."
14	William Kerr	1846–1847	Democrat
15	Gabriel Adams	1847–1849	Whig	Later became a state judge.
16	John Herron	1849–1850	Whig	Served as a captain in the Mexican War before becoming mayor.
17	Joseph Barker	1850–1851	People's and Anti-Catholic	Elected while in jail for causing public disturbances. He was released to serve his term.
18	John B. Guthrie	1851–1853	Democrat	His son, George W. Guthrie, also became a mayor.
19	Robert M. Riddle	1853–1854	Whig	Used to be the Postmaster of Pittsburgh.
20	Ferdinand E. Volz	1854–1856	Whig (1854–55)	Managed the city's response to a cholera outbreak.
20	Ferdinand E. Volz	1854–1856	Whig-Democratic fusion (anti-Know Nothing) (1855–56)	Managed the city's response to a cholera outbreak.
21	William Bingham	1856–1857	American
22	Henry A. Weaver	1857–1860	Republican	Later served as a U.S. Collector of Revenue for Pittsburgh.
23	George Wilson	1860–1862	Republican	Was a director for Pittsburgh Public Schools.
24	Benair C. Sawyer	1862–1864	Republican	Moved to Colorado and California after his term, making a fortune in mining.
25	James Lowry, Jr.	1864–1866	Union City
26	William C. McCarthy	1866–1868	Republican	Known as a great city firefighter. He later became city controller.
27	James Blackmore	1868–1869	Workingmen's	Used to be the Chief Clerk of the City.
28	Jared M. Brush	1869–1872	Republican	Was a city councilor and served as a minister during the Civil War.
29	James Blackmore	1872–1875	Democrat	Used to be the Chief Clerk of the City.
30	William C. McCarthy	1875–1878	Republican	A well-known city firefighter and commander.
31	Robert Liddell	1878–1881	Democrat	Was a brewer and liquor dealer before and after his time as mayor.
32	Robert W. Lyon	1881–1884	Democrat	Earned two Purple Hearts in the Civil War.
33	Andrew Fulton	1884–1887	Republican	A former city councilman.
34	William McCallin	1887–1890	Republican	Used to be the County Coroner and County Sheriff.
35	Henry I. Gourley	1890–1893	Republican	A former city councilman.
36	Bernard J. McKenna	1893–1896	Democrat	A former city councilman and firefighter.
37	Henry P. Ford	1896–1899	Republican	An industrialist with interests in making knives.
38	William J. Diehl #	1899–1901	Republican	Faced serious accusations and left office early.
39	Adam M. Brown	1901	Republican	A former judge. He was not elected by public vote.
40	Joseph O. Brown †	1901–1903	Republican	A former Director of Public Safety for the city. He passed away while in office.
41	William B. Hays	1903–1906	Citizens / Democrat	An industrialist involved in coal and lumber.
42	George W. Guthrie	1906–1909	Democrat	An attorney and son of former mayor John B. Guthrie.
43	William A. Magee	1909–1914	Republican	A former Assistant District Attorney for Allegheny County.
44	Joseph G. Armstrong	1914–1918	Republican	Known as "Joe the Builder" for his many public works projects.
45	Edward V. Babcock	1918–1922	Republican	Later served as an Allegheny County Commissioner. He bought thousands of acres for county parks.
46	William A. Magee	1922–1926	Republican	A former City Council President.
47	Charles H. Kline #	1926–1933	Republican	Faced legal challenges and resigned from office.
48	John S. Herron	1933–1934	Republican	A former City Council President. He was not elected by public vote.
49	William N. McNair #	1934–1936	Democrat	An attorney who faced difficulties and resigned from office.
50	Cornelius D. Scully	Democrat	1936–1946	A former City Council President.
50	Cornelius D. Scully	Democrat	1936–1946	A former City Council President.	51	David L. Lawrence #	Democrat	1946–1959	Considered one of the greatest American mayors. He was later elected governor.
52	Thomas Gallagher	1959	Democrat	Became mayor at 75 years old. He was not elected by public vote.
53	Joseph M. Barr	Democrat	1959–1970	A former State Senator.
53	Joseph M. Barr	Democrat	1959–1970	A former State Senator.						54	Peter F. Flaherty #	1970–1977	Democrat	A former city councilman. He resigned to take a job with the U.S. government.
"Fusion" Democrat										54	Peter F. Flaherty #	1970–1977
55	Richard Caliguiri †	1977–1988	Independent Democrat	A former City Council President. He passed away while in office.
			Democrat
			Democrat		56	Sophie Masloff	1988–1994	Democrat	A former City Council President. She started her career in Pittsburgh politics at age 18.
57	Thomas J. Murphy, Jr. ♥	Democrat	1994–2006	A former State Representative. He now gives talks about cities around the world.
					58	Bob O'Connor †	2006	Democrat	A former City Council President. He passed away while in office.
					59	Luke Ravenstahl ♥	Democrat	2006–2014	A former City Council President. He became mayor at 26, making him one of the youngest mayors of a big city.
60	Bill Peduto ♥	Democrat	2014–2022	A former city councilman.	59	Luke Ravenstahl ♥	Democrat	2006–2014
60	Bill Peduto ♥	Democrat	2014–2022	A former city councilman.	61	Ed Gainey ♥	2022–present	Democrat	A former state representative. He is the first African-American mayor of Pittsburgh.

† Died in office; # Resigned from office ; ♥ Still living

Longest Serving Mayors

Here are the mayors who served the longest terms in Pittsburgh's history:

13 years (1946–1959) – David L. Lawrence
12 years (1994–2006) – Thomas J. Murphy, Jr.
11 years and 1 month (1977–1988) – Richard Caliguiri
10 years and 1 month (1959–1970) – Joseph M. Barr
9 years and 3 months (1936–1946) – Cornelius D. Scully
8 years and 9 months (1909–1914, 1922–1926) – William A. Magee
8 years (2014–2022) – Bill Peduto
7 years and 11 months (1817–1825) – John Darragh
7 years and 4 months (2006–2014) – Luke Ravenstahl
7 years and >3 months (1970–1977) – Peter F. Flaherty
7 years and <3 months (1926–1933) – Charles H. Kline

These terms are rounded to the nearest month.

List of mayors of Pittsburgh facts for kids

Mayors of Pittsburgh (since 1816)

Longest Serving Mayors

See also