Leopold David (1878 – November 21, 1924) was the first

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Anchorage, Alaska Anchorage, officially the Municipality of Anchorage, is the List of cities in Alaska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Alaska. With a population of 291,247 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it contains nearly 40 percent of ...

. He studied the law in his own time and was admitted to the Washington State Bar Association before moving in 1917 to what would become Anchorage, Alaska. He served two terms as major of Anchorage and was a practicing attorney before joining the Board of Regents of the University of Alaska.

Biography

Leopold David was born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

in 1878 (or

Nordhausen Nordhausen may refer to: *Nordhausen (district), a district in Thuringia, Germany ** Nordhausen, Thuringia, a city in the district ** Nordhausen station, the railway station in the city *Nordhouse, a commune in Alsace (German: Nordhausen) * Narost, ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

in 1881). He served in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

in the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

, achieving the rank of Sergeant First Class. In 1904, he was assigned to

Fort Egbert Fort Egbert was a U.S. Army base in Eagle, Alaska. It operated from 1899 to 1911. History Fort Egbert was established in 1899, during the Klondike Gold Rush, as U.S. Army headquarters in the District of Alaska. It was named by U.S. President Wi ...

on the

Yukon River The Yukon River is a major watercourse of northwestern North America. From its source in British Columbia, it flows through Canada's territory of Yukon (itself named after the river). The lower half of the river continues westward through the U.S ...

near

Eagle, Alaska Eagle ( in Hän Athabascan) is a village on the south bank of the Yukon River, near the Canada–US border in the Southeast Fairbanks Census Area in Alaska, United States. It includes the Eagle Historic District, a U.S. National Historic Lan ...

, where he worked as a pharmacist's assistant. Discharged in 1905, he moved to Seward, obtaining a position as manager of the Seward Drug Company. Local newspapers ads described him as a "Physician and Surgeon". In 1909, David moved to Susitna Station to serve as a

United States Marshal The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The Marshals Service serves as the enforcement and security arm of the United States federal judi ...

. The next year, he moved to Knik, where he was appointed a U.S. Commissioner. He served as an ex-officio probate judge, studying law on his own time and gaining admission into the

Washington State Bar Association The Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) is the state bar association of the U.S. state of Washington. It operates under the delegated authority of the Washington Supreme Court to license the state's nearly 41,000 active and inactive lawyers a ...

. In 1915, David moved with his family to the tent city at

Ship Creek Ship Creek ( Dena'ina: ''Dgheyaytnu'') is an Alaskan river that flows from the Chugach Mountains into Cook Inlet. The Port of Anchorage at the mouth of Ship Creek gave its name ("Knik Anchorage") to the city of Anchorage that grew up nearby. Th ...

. When the land for the future city of Anchorage was auctioned off, he acquired two lots. In 1917, he designed and built a house on Second Avenue, which stands to this day. Anchorage was legally incorporated on November 23, 1920. On November 29, the newly elected city council designated David as the first

mayor of Anchorage This is a list of mayors of Anchorage, Alaska, United States. Anchorage, Alaska, Anchorage was incorporated as a city (Alaska), city on November 23, 1920. The Greater Anchorage Area Borough, which encompassed the city, was created in January 1964. ...

. In 1921, he joined Seward attorney L.V Ray in private law practice. David ran the firm's Anchorage office. After a second term as mayor, he joined the

Board of Regents In the United States, a board often governs institutions of higher education, including private universities, state universities, and community colleges. In each US state, such boards may govern either the state university system, individual co ...

of the

University of Alaska The University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF or Alaska) is a public land-, sea-, and space-grant research university in College, Alaska, United States, a suburb of Fairbanks. It is the flagship campus of the University of Alaska system. UAF was e ...

. David died on November 21, 1924, of heart failure. He was survived by his wife Anna and children Caroline and Leopold Jr, and buried in

Anchorage Memorial Park The Anchorage Memorial Park, also known as Anchorage Cemetery, is a cemetery located in Anchorage, Alaska, United States. Covering nine city blocks, the cemetery separates the city's downtown and Fairview neighborhoods. The cemetery was est ...

. The Leopold David House was placed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1986.

References

; General
Biography at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks

American Jewish Yearbook, 1976
; Specific 1878 births 1924 deaths 20th-century mayors of places in Alaska Alaska lawyers American people of German-Jewish descent Jewish American people in Alaska politics Jewish American mayors Law enforcement officials from Alaska Mayors of Anchorage, Alaska United States Marshals University of Alaska regents 19th-century American lawyers {{Alaska-mayor-stub