Ferdinand Claiborne Latrobe (October 14, 1833 – January 13, 1911) was a seven-term

Mayor of Baltimore The mayor of Baltimore is the head of the executive branch of the government of the City of Baltimore, Maryland. The Mayor has the duty to enforce city laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills, ordinances, or resolutions passed by th ...

, a member of the

Maryland House of Delegates The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the Maryland General Assembly, legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. It consists of 141 delegates elected from 47 districts. The House of Delegates Chamber is in the Maryland State House ...

, and an attorney during the 19th century.

Early life

Latrobe was born on October 14, 1833, at a house on South Gay Street in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

. He was the son of patent lawyer and Latrobe stove ("Baltimore Heater") inventor John H. B. Latrobe and Virginia Charlotte Claiborne, as well as the grandson of the American architect and engineer

Benjamin Henry Latrobe Benjamin Henry Boneval Latrobe (May 1, 1764 – September 3, 1820) was a British-American Neoclassical architecture, neoclassical architect who immigrated to the United States. He was one of the first formally trained, professional architects in ...

. In his mother's line, he was the grandson of General Ferdinand Leigh Claiborne and the great-nephew of

William C. C. Claiborne William Charles Cole Claiborne ( 1773–1775 – November 23, 1817) was an American politician and military officer who served as the first governor of Louisiana from April 30, 1812, to December 16, 1816. He was also possibly the youngest memb ...

, Governor of Mississippi, the Louisiana Territory, and the State of Louisiana. He was named after his grandfather, Ferdinand Claiborne. Latrobe was educated at the College of St. James in

Washington County, Maryland Washington County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. The population was 154,705 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Its county seat and largest city is Hagerstown, Maryland, Hagerstown. The ...

. Latrobe worked as a clerk in a mercantile house in Baltimore and as counsel for the

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the oldest railroads in North America, oldest railroad in the United States and the first steam engine, steam-operated common carrier. Construction of the line began in 1828, and it operated as B&O from 1830 ...

in 1858. He then studied law with his father and was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in Maryland in 1859.

Career

In 1860, Latrobe was appointed judge-advocate-general by then

Governor of Maryland The governor of the State of Maryland is the head of government of Maryland, and is the commander-in-chief of the state's National Guard units. The governor is the highest-ranking official in the state and has a broad range of appointive powers ...

Thomas H. Hicks Thomas Holliday Hicks (September 2, 1798February 14, 1865) was a politician in the divided border-state of Maryland during the American Civil War. As governor, opposing the Democrats, his views accurately reflected the conflicting local loyalt ...

and assisted in reorganizing the Maryland state militia under the Act of 1868, which he authored. He was elected to the

in 1867, serving from 1868 to 1872 representing Baltimore's 2nd district, and was

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hung ...

in 1870. While serving in the House he held the position of Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. In 1871, Latrobe became counsel for the

. He would serve again as counsel for the railroad in 1885 and 1887 between his periods of political office.

Mayor of Baltimore

In 1875, he was elected Mayor of Baltimore and served until 1877. The same year, Latrobe and then Maryland Governor

John Lee Carroll John Lee Carroll (September 30, 1830 – February 27, 1911), a member of the United States Democratic Party, was the 37th Governor of Maryland from 1876 to 1880. Early life and education Carroll was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on September 3 ...

, were present throughout strikes and outbreaks of violence during the Baltimore railroad strike of 1877 that erupted as part of the

Great Railroad Strike of 1877 The Great Railroad Strike of 1877, sometimes referred to as the Great Upheaval, began on July 14 in Martinsburg, West Virginia, after the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) cut wages for the third time in a year. The Great Railroad Strike of 187 ...

. He served out the unexpired term of

George Proctor Kane George Proctor Kane (August 4, 1817 – June 23, 1878) was an American politician and policeman. He is best known for his role as Marshal of Police during the Baltimore riot of 1861 and his subsequent imprisonment at Fort McHenry and Fort Warre ...

. He was reelected in 1879 and served two more terms until 1881. In 1883 he was again elected mayor, serving until 1885. During this latter term, a seven-mile tunnel was built to direct water from the

Gunpowder River The Gunpowder River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 tidal inlet on the western side of the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland, United States. It is formed by t ...

to Baltimore. He was again elected mayor, serving from 1887 until 1889, and served a final two mayoral terms from 1891 until 1895. He was elected again to the Maryland House of Delegates, representing Baltimore's 2nd district, from 1900 to 1901. He served as speaker of the House of Delegates in 1901. Latrobe served as president of the Consolidated Gas Company from 1901 to 1910. A 1993 survey of historians, political scientists and urban experts conducted by Melvin G. Holli of the

University of Illinois at Chicago The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) is a public research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its campus is in the Near West Side community area, adjacent to the Chicago Loop. The second campus established under the Universi ...

ranked Latrobe as the twenty-seventh-best American big-city mayor to have served between the years 1820 and 1993.

Personal life

In 1861, Latrobe married Louisa Sherlock Swann, daughter of

Thomas Swann Thomas Swann (February 3, 1809 – July 24, 1883) was an American lawyer and politician who also was President of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad as it completed track to Wheeling and gained access to the Ohio River Valley. Initially a Know-Not ...

, who was formerly Mayor of Baltimore and

. They had one son, Swann. The child died before reaching manhood. His wife died in 1865. Latrobe married Ellen Penrose Swann, the widow of Thomas Swann, Jr., in 1880 and together they had three children: Ferdinande Charlotte (b. 1881), Ellen Virginia (b. 1883), and Ferdinand Claiborne Latrobe, Jr. (1889–1944). Latrobe died on January 13, 1911, at his home at 904 North Charles Street in Baltimore. He had a Masonic funeral that was commanded by Grand Master Thomas J. Shryock. He was buried at

Green Mount Cemetery Green Mount Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Established on March 15, 1838, and dedicated on July 13, 1839, it is noted for the large number of historical figures interred in its grounds as well as ma ...

in Baltimore.

Quotes

*"We have always had the most beautiful women and the finest oysters in the world, and now we have the best baseball club." (speaking of the first, short-lived incarnation of the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

, in 1894)

References

*Wilson, J.G., Fiske, J., and Klos, S.L. (eds.) (1889). ''Appleton's Cyclopedia of American Biography''. 6 vol. New York: D. Appleton & Co.

External links

Ferdinand Claiborne Latrobe papers, 1833–1922
at the

University of Maryland, Baltimore County The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) is a Public university, public research university in Catonsville, Maryland named after Baltimore County, Maryland, Baltimore County. It had a fall 2022 enrollment of 13,991 students, 61 un ...

Resources at the Maryland State Archives

Digitized copies of Latrobe's hand-written speeches
are available through the Maryland Digital Cultural Heritage program

{{DEFAULTSORT:Latrobe, Ferdinand Claiborne 1833 births 1911 deaths Mayors of Baltimore Speakers of the Maryland House of Delegates Latrobe family 19th-century mayors of places in Maryland Swann family 19th-century members of the Maryland General Assembly