William Burns Smith
William Burns Smith (November 11, 1844 - November 23, 1917) was the Mayor of Philadelphia from 1884 to 1887.
Life
Smith was born in Glasgow on November 11, 1844, to William Wallace Smith and Anne Simpson.[1] He and his parents moved to Philadelphia when William was 7. At age 11 he became a wood-carver’s apprentice. At age 25, Smith joined the Pennsylvania National Guard and became major of the Veteran Corps 14 years later. He was part of the force that put down the Great Railroad Strike of 1877 in Pittsburgh.[2] In 1881, he was elected to represent Philadelphia’s 28th Ward in Select Council. A year later, he became president of the Select Council, and was inaugurated Mayor in 1884. He made efforts to reform the city police force. Smith died in 1917.[3]
References
- ^ Campbell, John Hugh (1892). My library My History Books on Google Play History of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick and of the Hibernian Society for the Relief of Emigrants from Ireland. Hibernian Society. p. 523.
- ^ Sprogle, Howard O. (1887). The Philadelphia Police, Past and Present. pp. 189–93.
- ^ Municipal Journal. 43: 595. December 15, 1917 https://books.google.com/books?id=h9JLAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA595&dq=william+burns+smith+1917&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjwnLmTy4_PAhXG1B4KHdj6Bi4Q6AEIHTAA#v=onepage&q=william%20burns%20smith%201917&f=false.
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