Eugene Peter Ruehlmann (February 23, 1925 – June 8, 2013) was an American lawyer and politician. He was the Mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio, from 1967 to 1971.

Early life and education

Ruehlmann was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, the son of John and Hattie Ruehlmann. Ruehlmann had nine siblings. In 1943, he graduated from Western Hills High School. In 1948, Ruehlmann earned his bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Cincinnati, where he also was awarded the McKibbin Medal from the College of Arts and Sciences. Ruehlmann was a member of

Beta Theta Pi Beta Theta Pi (), commonly known as Beta, is a North American social fraternity that was founded in 1839 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. One of North America's oldest fraternities, as of 2022 it consists of 144 active chapters in the Unite ...

and the varsity football team. He then served in the United States Marine Corps during World War II. In 1950, Ruehlmann earned his law degree from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

Career

Ruehlmann was a founder of the Strauss, Troy and Ruehlmann law firm in Cincinnati. In 1959, Ruehlmann was elected to Cincinnati City Council and then served as Mayor of Cincinnati from 1967 to 1971. As mayor, he helped to bring professional football to the city, and was among those who negotiated a deal that resulted in the construction of Riverfront Stadium, where the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

and

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

played. He is also credited with reaching out to the African American community and helping to heal the city after race riots in 1967 and 1968, following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Ruehlmann was a member of the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

. In the 1990s, he served as a chairman of the Hamilton County Republican Party.

Personal life and death

Ruehlmann's wife was Virginia Ruehlmann (née Juergens), who died in 2008. They had eight children. On June 8, 2013, Ruehlmann died in Cincinnati at the age of 88.'Ex-mayor Eugene Ruehlmann dies Helped develop stadium, Fountain Square plaza,' Cincinnati.com, Cliff Peale, June 9, 2013

Awards

* 1998 Great Living Cincinnatian Award. Presented by the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber.

References

External links

Eugene Peter Ruehlmann at findagrave.com

Finding Aid for Eugene P. Ruehlmann papers, Archives and Rare Books Library, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruehlmann, Eugene P. 1925 births 2013 deaths Mayors of Cincinnati Cincinnati City Council members University of Cincinnati alumni Harvard Law School alumni American people of German descent Ohio lawyers Ohio Republicans United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II Lawyers from Cincinnati Military personnel from Cincinnati 20th-century American lawyers