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Charles Godfrey Gunther (April 7, 1822 – January 22, 1885) was mayor of
"The Mayor Elect"
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Charles Godfrey Gunther (April 7, 1822 – January 22, 1885) was mayor of New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
from 1864 until 1866.
Early life
Gunther was born inNew York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
on April 7, 1822, into a family of recent immigrants from 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 ...
.''
Harper's Weekly
''Harper's Weekly, A Journal of Civilization'' was an American political magazine based in New York City. Published by Harper (publisher), Harper & Brothers from 1857 until 1916, it featured foreign and domestic news, fiction, essays on many su ...
'', December 19, 1863, at 813. His father, Christian G. Gunther, was a wealthy fur merchant, and Gunther would eventually join the family business.
Gunther was also a volunteer firefighter
A volunteer fire department (VFD) is a fire department of volunteers who perform fire suppression and other related emergency services for a local jurisdiction. Volunteer and retained (on-call) firefighters are expected to be on call to respond ...
for many years.
Political career
Gunther was active inTammany Hall
Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was an American political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789, as the Tammany Society. It became the main local ...
politics since his teenage years.
In 1861 he ran for mayor as a Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY)
**Democratic Part ...
, but lost to Republican George Opdyke in an election fraught with Civil War
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
complications. In 1863 Gunther ran again and was elected, serving his two-year term from 1864 until 1866.
Later life
After leaving politics, Gunther became a railroad executive, working in that capacity until his death in New York on January 22, 1885. He was buried inBrooklyn
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 ...
's Green-Wood Cemetery
Green-Wood Cemetery is a cemetery in the western portion of Brooklyn, New York City. The cemetery is located between South Slope, Brooklyn, South Slope/Greenwood Heights, Brooklyn, Greenwood Heights, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn, Win ...
.
See also
*German Americans
German Americans (, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry.
According to the United States Census Bureau's figures from 2022, German Americans make up roughly 41 million people in the US, which is approximately 12% of the pop ...
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gunther, Charles Godfrey Mayors of New York City American people of German descent 1822 births 1885 deaths Burials at Green-Wood Cemetery 19th-century mayors of places in New York (state) New York (state) Democrats